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THE CRUISE ' 


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V 


THE CRUISE OF 

THE “BLACK PRINCE." 


CHAPTER I. 

One evening I was sitting in the comfortable 
parlour of the Woolpack Inn, in Dale Street, 
Liverpool, with mine host, John Pye, discussing 
a bowl of punch brewed from right Jamaica and 
limes, which I had made a present to him on m}' 
return from the West Indies, and smoking a pipe 
of Carolina tobacco, when my old schoolfellow 
Tom Merrick came in, shaking the wet off his 
shaggy dreadnought coat, and said, “ I heard you 
were here, Bob, and have come to make an offer to 
you on behalf of my father and his partner, old 
Floyd, They were arguing between themselves to 
whom to offer the command of their ship the Black 
Prince^ and I said, ‘There’s my old schoolfellow 
Hawkins is now without a ship,’ and I thought that 
they could do no better than get you. At first they 
said that, as you were at school with me, you must 

B 


2 


The Cruise of the Black Prince f 


be quite a boy, forgetting, as old people often do, 
that as they grow old those they have remembered 
as children become men of middle age — though, for 
that matter, I hope at thirty-eight neither of us are 
yet commencing to go downhill — and it took a 
good deal of my persuasion, and telling how old 
Grog Vernon had spoken so highly of your services* 
at the taking of Porto Bello, and of the seamanslvip 
you showed in bringing that crazy old Elizabeth 
home from Charleston, before they consented to let 
me come to you ; and now I have been hunting for 
you for the last three hours, but have run you to 
earth at last Now, I make you the offer, will 
you accept the command of the Black Prince ? ” 

“Take command of the Black Prince! why, I 
should think I would. She’s the finest ship that 
sails out of Liverpool. I shall never forget seeing 
her work up past Tom Shot’s Point in old Calabar, 
and how Price — or Ap Rhys, as he loved to be 
called — handled her. But what has become of 
Price ? They can never have had any disagree- 
ment with him.” 

“ Oh no ; there has been no disagreement, but 
Captain Ap Rhys, as we must all call him now, has 
been left by a relation of his a snug farm in Wales, 
and he has borne up for the farm, and, from what 
I hear, he not only succeeds to the farm, but also 
to the pulpit of a small chapel which his cousin was 
minister of.” 


The Cruise of the "‘Black Prince': 


3 


“ I jiope Ap Rhys will prove as good a farmer 
and preacher as he was a sailor ; and I think it 
likely, for he always was what we sailors call of 
a serious turn of mind. I am infinitely obliged to 
his relation for leaving him the farm, and giving 
me the chance of commanding the Black PrinceT 

“ Well, Bob, you’ll take her ? I thought you would, 
and ril come as super-cargo. And, I’ve some- 
thing more to tell you. We have heard that war with 
France is to be declared, and my father and Mr. 
Floyd have determined to apply for a letter of 
marque.” 

“ What ! am I to command her as a privateer ? 
That’s next best to being captain of a man-of-war.” 

“ Yes, my lad ; but she is not only to go privateer- 
ing — she is to make the round voyage to Africa 
and the West Indies, and trust to her heels and 
her guns to escape capture.” 

" She can certainly sail, and we’ll pick up a right 
good crew. There were three or four good men 
in that old Elizabeth, and if they have not been 
picked up by the crimps, I dare say we may be able 
to get them — and they all have served in men-of-war. 
There’s Black Jack Jago, and his great chum that 
the men called Bloodred Bill — Cundy’s his name ; 
John Beer, Tom Batten, and Harry Moxon — all 
Falmouth men, and good sailors. And then there’s 
many a tidy man to be found on the banks of ths 
Mersey.” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


" There you go off at score. You just come down 
to the office on the quayside to-morrow morning, 
and you will get your instructions.’* 

“All right. But where is the ship now ? I only 
got back from my uncle’s farm this afternoon, 
where I have been since I left the Elizabeth^ and 
know nothing of the news of the town.” 

“Well, she’s up on the beach at Euncorn, to 
have her bottom resheathed where necessary, and 
breamed ; and just before Captain Ap Rhys left 
her she had got a new gang of lower rigging over 
the mastheads, and the mate is busy setting it up. 
I think the old dad did a good thing when 
he built her. Last voyage Ap Rhys carried six 
hundred and fifty-seven slaves from Calabar to 
Jamaica, and never lost one on the whole voyage. 
All Liverpool said a ship of five hundred tons 
was far too big for the African or any other 
trade.” 

‘ Is she five hundred tons? I did not think her so 
big. She is frigate built, and, with her poop, she 
has as much room as some of our. two-deckers 
— rather a different class of ship from the old 
Elizabeth^ 

“ I believe you, my boy, and, as.you say, she 
can sail well. She’ll show a clean pair of heels 
to any John Crapands who may be too big for 
her. Now I must be off. I’ll tell, my father you’ll 
be down at the office by eight o’chKk in the 


The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


5 


morning. Another glass of punch, to drink the 
health of the master of the Black Princer 

“All right, Tom. Here, host, fill Mr. Merrick’s 
and my glasses — bumpers, — and join us in wishing 
good fortune to the Black Prince and her new 
skipper.” 

John Pye was ready enough to comply, and the 
toast was drunk with enthusiasm, and after ex- 
changing good nights, Tom left me and rode away. 

As soon as he had gone, I asked Pye if he knew 
of the whereabouts of Jack Jago and his old ship- 
mates. 

“Jack Jago } D’ye mean the man they call Black 
Jack, who was a prisoner with the Moors?” 

“ Yes, the same.” 

“Well, I can’t rightly say. I heard he was seen 
a few days ago, but he’s lying low, for fear of the 
press-gang ; but the tender dropped down to the 
bar this afternoon, and he’d be safe now. I think 
I know most of the cribs where they stow them- 
selves, but he’s too wide awake to trust to the 
crimps, and it may take some time to find him. 
Any way Pll send a lad round to look for him, and 
he’ll be here if he's to be found by seven in the 
morning ? ” 

“ All right. Will you do it at once ? ” 

“ I’ll send at once. Good night. Do you want 
anything more before you go to bed ? ” 

“ No, thank you.” 


6 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince^ 


John Pye left the room, and I was left alono 
to consider my prospects, and what a great piece 
of good luck had befallen me in my old school- 
fellow getting me the command of the Black Prince^ 
for except the crazy old Elizabeth^ I had never 
yet commanded a ship, and I now found myself 
master of one of the finest ships sailing out of Liver- 
pool, or, for that matter, out of any English port. 

I had hitherto been rather knocked about in the 
world. My father had been at one time a sea 
lieutenant, but when he married my mother he 
quitted the navy, with the intention of settling 
down as a farmer near her brother’s farm in 
Cumberland ; but when on my birth my mother 
died, he again took to the sea, and got command 
of a merchant vessel sailing out of Liverpool. 
Till I was seven years old I lived with my uncle, 
a Cumberland statesman, and then my father — 
who now owned the ship he sailed, having invested 
all his money in her purchase — took me to sea 
with him for four years, when, at the advice of his 
friends, he sent me to the school at Liverpool 
where Tom Merrick was being educated, and there 
I made his acquaintance, wLich ripened into a w^arm 
friendship and continued long after our school-days. 

At the age of fifteen my school-days were brought 
to an abrupt close by the death of my father, who 
was killed wLilst defending, though unsuccessfully, 
his ship from capture by an enemy’s frigate ; and, 


The Cruise of the ''Blade Prince. 


7 


as all he had was invested in the ship and her 
freight, I was left a penniless orphan. My uncle, 
who had a large family, would willingly have taken 
me to his home and given me my chance with my 
cousins, but one of my father’s old friends offered 
to take me to sea with him, and putting my 
gentility on one side, I had dipped my hands in 
the tar bucket and slush pot, and, by zeal and good 
conduct, worked my way aft to the quarter-deck. 
In 1739 I was present at the taking of Porto Bello 
by Admiral Vernon, or Old Grog, as the sailors 
called him, where I was fortunate enough to attract 
his attention by carrying messages under fire, and 
afterwards at the disastrous operations against 
Cartagena, where scurvy and disease decimated 
our forces, the ship I was on board of having 
been chartered as a transport. At this time I 
made the acquaintance of Roderick Random, who 
was a doctor’s mate in one of the men-of-war, as 
one night a boat I was in had the good fortune 
to save him from drowning when his own had 
been capsized. 

At the age of twenty-two I became my old friend 
and patron’s. Captain How’s, mate ; and served 
with him in that capacity till he died some years 
after, being employed chiefly in the West Indian 
and African trade. On his death he was succeeded 
by a stranger, who brought a relation of his own 
as mate, and I for a time, being thrown out of 


8 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


employment, had to ship before the mast, and as 
an able seaman made a voyage to the East Indies, 
where the English and French East India Com- 
panies were constantly fighting with each other, 
though the two countries were not at war. But 
indeed in those days there was no peace beyond 
the line. 

In a brush which we had with a French cruiser, 
I had the good fortune to attract the attention of 
our captain, and finding out my history, he gave 
me the berth of the third mate, who had been 
killed in the action, and endeavoured to get me 
confirmed in that post, on the return of the ship 
to England ; but owing to the place being required 
by one of the India Board for a young gentleman, 
in whom he was interested, his application was 
refused. 

I was thus again thrown on my own resources, 
and had some idea of shipping on board a king’s 
ship, when I ran up against my friend Tom 
Merrick, who for some time had been employed in 
a merchants’ house in London, and who was 
surprised to see the desolate condition in which I 
was. He at once sent me down to Liverpool, 
where his interest got me a berth as mate on board 
a Guineaman, and I had been employed in that 
trade till the time this story commences. On my 
last voyage, the ship in which I was had been 
totally wrecked in a hurricane, and only myself 


TJu Cruise of tke Black Prince^ 


If 


9 


and two other men had escaped on some wreckage, 
and when, after three days of terrible suffering, we 
were picked up, my companions were in such a 
dreadful condition that they both died a short time ‘ 
after, and I was for a long time dangerously ill and 
was taken to the seaman’s hospital at Port Royal, 

When I recovered I went to the correspondents 
of my owners, and by them was ordered to take 
a passage home in one of their ships which was to 
call at Charleston on the way home. At Charleston 
we found the Elizabeth^ which had put in there 
from stress of weather, and had lost her master 
and several of her crew from yellow fever. She 
was in such a bad condition that it was hard to 
find any one who would consent to cross the 
Western Ocean in her. As I thought it was 
an opportunity of getting command of a ship, I 
volunteered to take her home if a crew could be 
found. The merchant to whom she was consigned 
was only too glad to accept my offer, and was so 
pleased with my willingness to run the risk of the 
voyage, that he pressed me to stay at his house 
whilst the Elizabeth underwent the repairs which 
were absolutely necessary before she could put to 
sea. 

I found Mr. Penmore, who was the scion of an 
old English family, and his wife and daughters 
most charming people ; one of the daughters indeed 
was so charming, that I could not withstand her 


10 


The Cruise of the JO lark Prince. 


winning ways, and soon lost my heart to her. 
Muriel Penmore returned my affections, and gave 
me leave to prefer my suit to her father. Mr. 
Penmore, who, though he had left the old country 
still retained all the pride of his family, was 
furious at what he was pleased to term my 
presumption, and ordered me out of the house, 
calling me an impertinent and low-bred tarpaulin, 
and forbidding me to say farewell to Muriel.. I 
had to take up my quarters in a lodging-house in 
the town, to wait for the Elizaheih to be ready for 
sea, as there was no other place where I could find 
shelter. Mr. Penmore hurried on the preparations, 
and would, verily, I believe, have turned me out 
the command, if he could have made sure that 
I would not remain in Charleston, and he had been 
able to find any one else to take command of the 
ship. 

I tried all manner of means to communicate with 
Muriel, but could not manage it, and all the letters 
1 addressed to her and her father were returned to 
me unopened. I tried to see Mr. Penmore several 
times, but without avail, and had even to transact 
business connected with the ship with his chief 
clerk instead of with him personally. 

At last the Elizabeth was reported ready for sea, 
and I went on board and got all in order for sailing. 
As, notwithstanding the repairs which had been 
made, she was very leaky, a gang of twenty slaves 


The Cruise of the Black Prince!: 


I 


was put on board for the purpose of relieving the 
sailors of a portion of the labour at the pumps. In 
the boat that brought these I saw a boy whom I 
had constantly noticed at Mr. Penmore’sr and he 
managed, unseen by the overseer who came to 
deliver the slaves to me, and obtain my receipt for 
them, to give me a note from my beloved Muriel, 
in which she assured me-of her undying affection 
for me, and by whom I was able to send a reply, 
couched in the most ardent language [ could 
muster, and in return for a lock of her hair which 
she sent me to send one of my own and a ring I 
had purchased in the town and had longed for an 
opportunity of giving her. 

The next morning we sailed from Charleston, 
and after a most tedious and dangerous voyage, in 
which only the seamanship of the crew and the 
unremitting labours of the negroes at the pumps 
prevented her from being lost, the Elizabeth arrived 
at Liverpool, but in such an unscaworthy condition 
that all idea of repairing her was abandoned, and 
the hopes I had of having the command of her when 
she again went to sea were dashed to the ground. 

I, as was my custom whenever I came to Liver- 
pool, made my way into Cumberland to visit my 
uncle and cousins, and had only this very afternoon 
returned to look for employment, and had intended 
to go next morning to call on Tom Merrick to see 
if he could help me in my search. 


12 


The Cruise of the Black Prince!* 


I was delighted with the opening before me and 
now trusted that a few successful voyages might 
enable me to return to Charleston, and again sue 
for the hand of my Muriel, and, if her father proved 
obdurate, to induce her to leave her home and throw 
in her lot with mine. 

As I was thinking over my prospects, mine host 
returned into the room, and said, “ Your honour will 
have Black Jack here to-morrow morning. One of 
my lads is the sharpest boy in all Liverpool, and he 
says he knows where Jago and the rest are hiding, 
but that he must be well paid to go there and have 
some token from you to prove that it is not a 
dodge of the press-gang their being sent for. The 
boy, who is called Rat, will go at once and tell the 
men your wishes if you will.” 

“ All right, Pye. Here is my hanger — they know 
that ; and I’ll even go to bed now, but let me know 
at once' when the me»x come in the mornins:,” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


13 


CHAPTER IL 

My night^s rest was broken by dreams of successful 
actions and captures of prizes loaded with doubloons, 
and my returning to Charleston to claim the hand 
of Muriel as a rich man. From these dreams I 
was awoke by a knock at my door, followed by 
the entry of one of the servants of the inn, who told 
me it was half-past six o’clock and that two sailors 
were down below asking for me. 

I got up at once and dressed, and, going down, 
found that Black Jack Jago and his inseparable 
friend Cundy, commonly called Bloodred Bill, were 
there waiting for me. Two men more different 
in their outward appearance could scarcely be 
imagined. Jago was over six feet high, and thin 
and gaunt, and, as his nickname implied, as dark 
as a Spaniard. His hair was commencing to get 
grizzled, and one side of his face was disfigured by 
a scar from a wound which he had received in 
effecting his escape from captivity at Algiers, where 
he had been a slave for five years. Of his ex- 
periences there he could never be got to speak, but 


14 The Cruise of the ''Black Princer 


his frame bore many marks of the cruelty and ill- 
usage to which he had been subjected, and on his 
wrists and ankles were the scars of the irons by 
which he had been fettered. Though the pirates 
might have injured his body, they had been power- 
less to affect his spirit, and he was reckoned by 
those who knew him as one of the best and bravest 
of British seamen. His companion was a short, 
stout man, of not more than five feet three, and 
seemed, from the massiveness of his build, like a 
giant cut short. His face was tanned red by the 
wind and spray of many a storm, and his hair was 
also bright red, thus justifying his nickname ; but a 
bright blue eye — for he had only one — and a smile 
which played round his lips were quite contrary to 
the idea of ferocity, which the name would seem to 
imply. He was a townsman of Jago’s, and had 
formed one of the crew of the ship which picked 
him up, the only survivor of six who had managed 
to steal a boat at Algiers and make their escape. 
J ago was lying insensible in the bottom of the boat 
among the corpses of his companions, and it could 
never be found out for how many days he had 
existed without food or water, and his recovery 
every one said was due to the care lavished on him 
by his friend. After this Cundy in the West Indies 
had fallen overboard in a port infested by sharks, 
and, having been injured in falling, was unable to 
swim, and would soon have either been drowned or 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


15 


fallen a prey to these ravenous monsters, if Jago, 
heedless of the danger he incurred, had not sprung 
overboard to his assistance and brought him safely 
on board. 

Ever since the two men had been inseparable 
friends, and had always shipped togetlier and tried 
to be in the same watch and mess, and wherever 
one was to be seen it was quite certain that the 
other was close at hand. 

They were sitting down in a sanded room, 
furnished with wooden benches, and when I entered 
both got up, and, smoothing down their forelocks, 
said, “ Morning, and sarvice to your honour.” 

“ Good morning, my lads,” I said. “ I want to 
know if you will sail with me ? I am promised the 
command of the Black Prince^ belonging to Messrs. 
Merrick and Floyd,” 

“ Sail with your honour ! — ay, that we will ! ” 
said Cundy — “won’t we. Bo?” to Jago. “We 
knows your honour for a good seaman, and a skilful 
one, and one that knows and cares for a man.” 

“All right, my good fellows; but you don’t 
know where we are going, or what we’re going to 
do.” 

“ That’s all one to us ; it don’t matter a piece of 
tobacco whether it’s the East Indies, South Seas, 
or the Spanish main. A good skipper ^nd a good 
ship’s all we ask for, and here’s both. Eh, Bo ? ” 
and Cundy, as was his unfailing custom, appealed 


1 6 TJie Cruise of the Black PrinceP 

to Jago, who signified his assent by a nod and a 
grunt. 

“ Well, we are going down the coast of Africa 
and across to the West Indies, and I believe we’re 
to have a letter of marque. Now, what d’ye say?” 

“ Say ! why, we’ll sail with your honour for a 
voyage like that twenty times over.” 

“ Good, my men. Now, the ship is on the beach 
at Runcorn, being breamed and refitted. Will you 
go round and see what men you can get together t 
Do you know of any ? ” 

‘"Yes, your honour; Jan Beer and Sam Moxon 
is down where we’ve been stowed away while the 
press-gang was about, and there’s some seven or 
eight more likely lads there, too. A privateer in the 
Spanish main — that would bring men out of the 
stones of Liverpool.” 

“ Well, mind, I won’t have any sweepings out of 
the gutter, nor longshore loafers ; every man you 
bring must be a seaman.” 

“ Sartain, your honour. A good crew makes light 
work, and we want no lazy, lubberly swabs aboard, 
to put their fists in a mess kid, and never pull a 
pound in boarding a tack.” 

“ All right. Now tell the host to give you some- 
thing to eat, and not to forget the drink. I must 
go down to the quayside to see the owners.” 

I now went up to my room to make my toilet, 
and, assisted by my black servant Toby, 1 put on 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


I 


my best wig and a blue coat guarded with silver 
lace, and, with a silver-mounted hanger round my 
waist, which had belonged to , my father, a three- 
cornered hat cocked rather on one side, I considered 
myself as smart a looking skipper as could be seen 
on the Liverpool flags. 

Just as I was putting the finishing touches to 
my dress, I heard the sound of a horse in the street, 
and in another moment Tom Merrick bounded into 
my room. 

“ Here, heave out, you lazybones ; I’ve ridden in 
from Mr. Floyd’s house, and here you are not 
dressed yet.” 

“ One moment. — Here, Toby, just give me a hand- 
kerchief. — Now I’m ready, but I have been up for a 
long time, and have got two of the men I wanted 
for the crew of the Black Prince downstairs, and they 
say they can find me some more.” 

“All right; come along. You are a regular 
macaroni, but you look a sailor, too. My father 
and Mr. Floyd are full of the letter of marque ; 
but it will be necessary for us to go to London 
to get it. There may be some difficulty, as war 
is not declared yet, but I think that Sir John Dor- 
mer, who is a friend of father’s, and high in favour 
at court for services he rendered the Government 
during the Jacobite rising, may be able to help 
us.” 

Tom Merrick and I were soon at his father’s 

c 


1 8 The Cruise of the Black Princer 



house, the lower rooms of which were used as their 
offices, and here we found both Mr. Merrick and 
Mr. Floyd waiting for us. 

When I came in Mr. Merrick said, “Good morning, 
Captain Hawkins. I suppose my son has told you 
that we want a master for the Black Princey our 
old friend Captain Price having decided to give up 
going to sea ? Master Tom has recommended you, 
and after making careful inquiries of the owners of 
the Elizahethy we have decided on offering you the 
command of the Black Prince. We remember your 
father well, and he was always an honourable man, 
as well as a smart seaman. If you will only follow 
in his footsteps I am sure we shall never have 
reason to regret having intrusted you with the 
command of one of our ships.” 

“ I am sure, sir,” I replied, “ that I will do my 
utmost to merit your approbation. I cannot now 
say much, except that my humble duty and thanks 
are yours and Mr. Floyd’s for the honour you have 
done me in the bestowal of this mark of your 
confidence.” 

“That’s well,” chimed in Mr. Floyd; “but you 
must not think that it’s this young shipjack here 
who has to be thanked for our choosing you, but 
your own merits and seamanship. I went yesterday 
to Malcolmson Brothers, who own the Elizabethy and 
they told me how you frapped the crazy old craft 
together on the passage home and brought her into 


The Cruise of the Black Prince ', 


19 


the Mersey, when many another man would have 
failed.” 

“ Yes, sir, I had a tough piece of work to bring her 
home ; but I am well repaid for any difficulty by 
being intrusted with such a vessel as the Black 
Prince. I am happy to say I can get some of the 
best men who were in the Elizabeth to sail with 
me again.’^ 

“ That’s very well,” said Mr. Merrick ; “ but now I 
must talk to you on business matters. We have news 
from our correspondents in London that there will 
be war with France in a very short time, and we 
think that, sooner than undergo the delays entailed 
by sailing with a convoy, we will arm the Black 
Prince^ and let her trust to herself for protection, 
and, in some measure to repay the cost of this; to 
ask for a letter of marque against the Mounseers.” 

“I should like nothing better. You know my 
father was in the navy, and I have seen some 
fighting. But is not the Black Prince armed 
already } ” 

“ Certainly. She has guns on boards, because at 
Sierra Leone and elsewhere on the African coast 
tliere are many pirates ; but we think of arming her 
so as to be a match for any ship of her tonnage.” 

“If you do, sir, I hope that I may be able to give 
a good account of any Frenchman we may meet. 
I’ve seen her sail, and I know she has the heels of 
most ships.” 


20 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


“All right, Captain Hawkins. We will now go 
and take oars from near the slave market, and go 
up with the flood tide to where she is on the beach 
at Runcorn.” 

We went down to the steps leading to the river, 
and then got into a wheriy belonging to Mr. 
Merrick, and with a flood tide soon got up to 
where the Black Prince was on the beach, with the 
shipwrights busy about her bottom, and after a 
good deal of scrambling and climbing, managed to 
get up on her deck. 

If what I had seen of the Black Prince before 
from the outside had pleased me, I had double 
reason to feel satisfied with her when I got on the 
poop and could really judge of her size and 
roominess. The poop had on each side ports for 
three guns, and places on the gunwale for mount- 
ing swivels, but all these had been landed whilst 
the ship was being refitted, as had also the guns 
on the main deck and forecastle. The waist was 
covered with a flying deck, chinsed down, ^^ich 
could be removed when necessary, to give air to 
the slaves in the ’tween decks and hold. 

The mate, who I found was busy setting up the 
new lower rigging with a gang of longshore men, 
did not seem to view me with any friendly eye, and 
I was very glad to hear him tell Mr. Merrick that 
he wished to bear up for the shore. I could see that 
the work was not being done in the way I should 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


21 


like, and determined that I should have Jago and 
Cundy, and such men as they could bring at once, 
to turn to the next morning, and that Mr. Jones, as 
the mate was called, shpuld be permitted to leave 
directly, and that a likely young fellow named Harry 
Trenal, who had been third mate in the Elizabeth^ 
should have the berth of second mate in the Black 
Prince^ and, until I found a trustworthy and good 
seaman for the post of first mate, have charge of 
the work. All the upper masts and the yards, 
sails, and running rigging, were on shore, as were 
all the other fittings and stores, the ship only 
having two anchors and their cables on board, and 
enough ballast to shift on. 

We were thus able to see every part of the ship 
most thoroughly, and I was glad to see that the 
precaution, too often neglected in the Guinea trade, 
of having the poop and forecastle strongly barri- 
caded, had not been omitted. After having ex- 
amined the ship in detail, and made notes as to 
what alterations were advisable to fit her as a 
privateer, and given some directions to the ship- 
wrights and Mr. Jones, we left again, and returned 
to Mr. Merrick’s office. 

As soon as we arrived there, we sent messengers 
to find Mr. Trenal, and for Jago and Cundy to 
come at once, and then began to discuss what steps 
should be taken to procure a letter of marque. 

Mr. Merrick said that there were great obstacles, 


22 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


as war had not been declared, but that there could 
be no doubt that it would soon be, as the present 
state of affairs could not long continue, and that he 
trusted very much to the influence at court of one 
of his London correspondents. Sir John Dormer, 
who had been Lord Mayor, and, besides having 
largely assisted the court in monetary matters, had 
been of great use to them during the Jacobite 
rising of 1745, through the intelligence he was able 
to supply from having extensive connections in the 
north of England and Scotland. Though he had 
aided in maintaining the Hanoverian dynasty, and 
had received the honour of knighthood for his 
services, he was a true Englishman, and had used 
all his power and influence to save the followers 
of the young Chevalier from the anger of the king, 
and had furnished many a needy Jacobite with 
money and a passage to the Continent. He was 
also on good terms with Mr. Pitt, and if any one 
could be expected to succeed in the obtaining of 
any favour. Sir John Dormer was the man. 

It was soon decided that Tom Merrick and -my- 
self should go to London with letters for Sir John 
as soon as I had put the work in order on board 
the Black Prince^ and whilst there also engage a 
surgeon, and learn as far as might be possible what 
the Government intended to do in case war might 
be declared. 

We had scarcely finished this discussion when 


The Cruise of the Black Prince,' 


23 


the messenger we had sent for Mr. Trenal returned, 
and said that he would be with us in half an hour, 
and immediately afterwards we heard the sound of 
a drum and fifes and fiddles, and going out to see 
what the noise meant, found Jago and Cundy, with 
their old shipmates Beer and Moxon and about 
twenty more likely fellows, had come to ship on 
board the Black Prince] Captain Robert Hawkins. 

Cundy as usual was spokesman, and ended his 
remarks by an appeal to Jago, and from him I 
learned that all these men were ready to sail with 
me to any part of the world, and that they all were 
good men and true and real seamen, and that they 
knew of many more whom they would be able to 
easily find, now that the press-gang tender had left 
the river. 

I asked Mr. Merrick if we could enter these men 
at once, and set them to work at fitting out the 
Black Prince^ as I knew from experience that men 
would much sooner trust to rigging and gear they 
had fitted themselves than to anything done by 
others, who were only interested in getting the 
work over as soon as possible. 

A book was prepared and I entered Jago as 
gunner, and his chum Cundy as boatswain, while 
Sam Moxon was given the rating of sailmaker, 
which my experience of him on board the Eliza- 
hsih had proved him to be well fitted for; the 
rest were all shipped as “AB’s,” being well able 


24 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


to reef, hand, and steer, use the lead and sew a 
seam. 

When their marks had been appended to the 
’ agreement, I told them that we had a good ship, 
and I hoped we should have a happy and pros- 
perous voyage, and return with all our pockets full 
of dollars. In the mean time I gave them a couple 
of doubloons, to drink to the success of the Black 
Prince and her owners and master, and told them 
to be on board the next morning to turn to work. 

Giving three hearty huzzas, they trooped off, 
headed by their music, to amuse themselves in the 
way Jack ashore delights in. 

As they were going Mr. Trenal arrived, and I 
soon made arrangements with him to take over 
charge from Mr. Jones on the following morning, 
discharge the men who were employed in rigging 
the ship, and get on with the work with the hands 
I had just shipped ; and, in order to give them 
a pull when necessary, Mr. Merrick said he would 
send a dozen blacks from the slave market, where 
there were just at that moment a great number 
on sale, some of whom had been employed in 
assisting to bring ships home from the West Indies 
which had lost part of their crew from yellow fcvei^ 
I especially asked him to try to obtain those I had 
had on board the Elizabeth, some of whom were 
fairly good seamen, and, as I hoped that we might 
perchance visit Charleston, I had an idea that then 


The Cruise of the “Black Prince,' 


25 


assistance might enable me to visit my darling 
Muriel. 

These various businesses had filled up the whole 
of our day, and I was glad to accept the invi- 
tation of Mr. Merrick to sup with him and his 
family when they were over, as it would be far 
more pleasant than the company of mine host 
John Pye, good fellow though he might be, in 
the parlour of the Woolpack. 

I had before this made the acquaintance of 
Tom’s mother and two sisters, and so did not 
come in as a stranger, and passed a most pleasant 
evening, and when, at nine o’clock, the time for 
retiring came, I had no idea the evening was 
so far spent. 


26 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince. 


CHAPTER III. 

Tom Merrick accompanied me to the Woolpack for 
a pipe and glass of punch, and to talk over our 
approaching journey to London. As we desired 
to be independent of wind and tide, we decided 
to go on horseback instead of by sea, and Tom 
said he could provide me with a stout hackney, 
and that good useful beasts could easily be bought 
for Toby and his servant Standen, and that when 
we were ready we could join with some friends 
of his, who were about to visit London on business, 
for protection against highwaymen and other 
dangers of the road. 

On Toby being told he was to visit London, 
which he had never yet seen, although he had heard 
many stories about its wonders, he expressed the 
liveliest delight ; but this was somewhat mitigated 
by his being told that he would have to ride the 
whole way, as he had never yet been on the back 
of a horse. 

In two days more our preparations were made, 
and I had also the pleasure of seeing the Black 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


27 


Prince afloat and moored in the stream opposite 
Mr. Merrick’s office, and the work going on apace 
under the directions of Mr. Trenal. 

On the morning of the third day Tom and I 
left Mr. Merrick’s house, mounted on two stout, 
surefooted hackneys. Stan den and Toby, each with 
a valise strapped behind them, and armed with 
a blunderbuss and pair of pistols, followed us ; 
whilst Tom and myself, besides our pistols, each 
carried a trusty broadsword. Our horseman’s cloaks 
were rolled tightly up, and strapped on our saddles, 
and in inner pockets both Tom and myself carried 
our letters of recommendation and credit, which were 
made out in duplicate. Bidding farewell to my 
employers and Tom’s family, we rode off* to Edge 
Hill where we had agreed to meet the gentlemen 
who were to accompany us on our journey to 
London, and when we joined them we found our 
party consisted in all of fourteen well-armed men, 
which we thought would be sufficient to repel the 
attacks of any highwaymen we might meet, or 
of any bands of broken soldiers, of whom at that 
time many infested the roads and levied contri- 
butions on those whom they were able to frighten, 
or force into compliance with their demands. 

Our journey passed without any incident worthy 
of note till after leaving Harrow-on-the-Hill, where 
we baited our horses and dined, the day before 
arriving in London. We had pushed on pretty 


28 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


fast, and Tom and I, being better mounted than 
the rest, were somewhat in front, when, soon after 
dusk, a bullet whizzed past my head, and four men, 
jumping their horses over the hedge, commanded 
us to “stand and deliver.” 

I drew a pistol from my holster, and, pointing 
at the man nearest me, pulled the trigger, but it 
did not go off ; so I drew my sword and made at 
our assailants. They fired several pistol-shots at us, 
one of which killed Tom’s horse, and deprived me 
for a time of his assistance, and it was only by 
dint of making my horse twist and turn that I 
foiled the attempts that were made to drag me 
from my saddle, and was also able to deal one 
of the highwaymen a blow on the head with my 
sword, which tumbled him off his steed. 

Tom, who had cleared himself from his horse, 
caught that of the robber, and our companions 
coming up, his three comrades made off. I told 
Toby to dismount and see after the wounded man^ 
who was lying on the road groaning and half 
stunned. He administered a dram, which, when 
the wounded man had swallowed, he lifted up his 
head, and opening his eyes, exclaimed, as he saw 
Toby’s black face close by his, “O Lord, the devil 
has got me at last, and is pouring hell fire down 
my throat,” and jumping to his feet, dashed through 
the hedge. 

Some of us were for pursuing him, but the rest 


The Cruise of the Black Prhtcel 


29 


advised letting him go, as we should have trouble 
in conveying him to town, and afterwards might 
be detained for a long time to witness against him 
at his trial, and their advice prevailed. We removed 
the saddle, bridle, and other trappings from Tom’s 
horse, and put them on top of his valise behind 
Standen, whilst Tom himself mounted the highway- 
man’s steed, and could not help acknowledging 
that, though he was sorry for the death of his 
trusty hackney, he had made an exchange for 
the better, as the new horse was a handsome and 
well-bred animal. 

Leaving the dead horse on the road, we proceeded 
on our way, determining to be on our guard until 
our arrival at our destination. On looking to our 
firearms, we found the priming had been removed 
from them all, so that evidently the highwaymen 
had been in league with the stablemen of the inn 
where we had halted at Harrow. 

When we got into London, Tom and I bade 
farewell to our fellow-travellers, and made our way 
to a tavern in Holborn, where, after seeing our 
horses looked to, we were glad enough to have our 
suppers and get to bed. 

In the morning we were awoke by a great noise 
outside the house, and going to the window, I saw 
a crowd assembled, and throwing open the window 
heard them shouting about highwaymen, and at 
the same moment the door of our room was burst 


30 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


open, and some men, coming into the room, said 
we were their prisoners. Tom, who had not got 
out of his bed, asked what was the matter, when 
the ostler of the inn, who had come in with these 
men, who by their scarlet waistcoats we knew to 
be Bow Street runners, said — 

“Yes, that’s him in bed ; he’s the one that rode 
the big chestnut,, with white stockings and blaze 
on his face. That’s Captain Starlight” 

“ Captain Starlight 1 What do you fellows mean ? 
said Tom. 

“ Come, captain,” said the leader, “ it’s no use ; 
you’re nabbed, and must come along with us.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” interposed I. That’s my 
friend, Mr. Merrick of Liverpool, a shipowner, and 
I’m master of one of his ships.” 

“Well, I never heard of high-tobymen having 
to do with sea. Here you're rather far from your 
port, as you’ll soon find ; but I never thought the 
captain would have been foolhardy enough to put 
that chestnut horse of his up in Holborn.” 

“ We can prove who we are. Here are our papers.” 

“The papers will be seen, but you must both 
come along. Now quick with your togs, and come 
along.” 

Tom and I, seeing resistance was useless, put on 
our clothes, and said we would be ready to come 
at once, but that we hoped we might be permitted 
to write to Sir John Dormer. 


The Cruise of tfie Black Prince^ 


“ Ay, you may write if you’ll pay for it ; but this 

paper Ah, high-toby men writing to an aider- 

man ! Come, Captain Starlight, you’ll want yonr 
guineas in Newgate. I’m good-natured, and you’d 
better keep your rhino. I’ve nabbed many of 
your sort, but never such a highflyer as you.” 

“Fellow, I’m no highwayman. If the horse I rode 
yesterday belonged to one, I can easily explain how 
it came into my possession.” 

“Yes, you may explain ; but I know you’re worth 
a hundred guineas, and fifty for any of your gang ; 
and I’ve nabbed three. Now, that’s two hundred 
and fifty, and I can afford to be generous. Write, 
and I won’t charge more than five guineas.” 

Opening our valises, we soon dressed, and Tom 
wrote a short note to Sir John asking him to come 
and free us from the unpleasant predicament in 
which we were placed. 

When the letter was written, the officer asked 
if we would walk, or if, as we were at the tojj 
of the tree, we would prefer to have chairs. Ten 
guineas was the modest demand for us and our 
servants to have chairs to be carried before the 
justices, and then the officers produced handcuffs, 
and said, “ Now, gentlemen, we must put the 
darbies on.” 

This was too much for our temper, and we struck 
out, flooring several of the runners, but were over- 
powered by numbers, and the handcuffs placed 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


iF 

on our wrists, poor Toby not at all understanding 
what was going on, and asseverating that he was a 
free man and not a slave. 

The head runner said he admired our courage, 
and that he should come to see us when we had 
to dance upon nothing at the Tyburn tree. 

Outside the tavern we were each placed in a 
sedan-chair with an officer, and carried off to the 
watch-house, accompanied by a shouting and 
halloaing mob, all anxious to catch a glimpse of the 
famous Captain Starlight, who, I gathered from my 
companion, though he laughed at what he termed 
my pretended ignorance, was a notorious highway- 
man who, with a gang of followers, had for a long 
time rendered the northern road unsafe. 

At the watch-house we were taken into a large 
room, where were prisoners of all descriptions, 
demireps, cutpurses, tramps, bloods who had 
assaulted the watch, apprentices who had been 
aping the habits of the bloods, and in fact all the 
sweepings of the London streets, waiting for the 
arrival of the magistrates. 

Here we were released from our handcuffs, but 
could easily see that, as Captain Starlight and his 
friends, our arrival created considerable sensation. 
Several of the prisoners thought they couldn’t do 
better than show their appreciation of the high 
estimation in which they held us by pressing us to 
drink with them ; porter and strong waters being 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


33 


readily obtainable at somewhat exorbitant prices 
by those who had money to pay for them. 

Our refusal to accept these invitations was not 
well taken by our fellow-prisoners, and we 
doubtless would have been roughly handled if some 
sailor expressions which I let fall had not brought 
to our assistance half a dozen sailors who had been 
locked up for being engaged in some pothouse 
brawl, and who swore that they would not see us 
unfairly dealt with. Their brawny lists soon dis- 
persed the more violent of our assailants, and 
we were left to wait either for the arrival of the 
justices or else for a messenger from Sir John 
Dormer with what equanimity we could muster. 

Fortunately for us, the worthy knight was in his 
house in Great St. Helen’s when Tom’s letter to 
him arrived, and not content with sending to pro- 
cure our liberation, he came down at once himself 
to see into the matter. We had, indeed, been 
scarcely locked up half an hour before the man 
who had been the principal in our arrest came 
in with cringing manner, and said, “ Pray pardon 
me, your honours. Sir John Dormer is without, and 
awaits you ; and I beg you will accept the fifteen 
guineas you gave me and not mention anything of 
the matter.” 

"Not so,” said Tom. “You made us pay them, 
and we will have them back by authority or not 
at all.’* 

D 


34 


The Cntise of the Black Prince} 


We were immediately shown into a room where 
there was a bright fire burning, and which was 
sufficiently, if somewhat shabbily, furnished, and 
here we found Sir John. 

“ How are you, Master Merrick } I am afraid these 
knaves have given you but a sorry welcome to our 
fair town of London. Come, this, I suppose, is your 
friend Mr. Hawkins, and these your servants. Tell 
me how you got into this scrape, for I know you 
of old to be a steady, sober, and well-conducted 
gentleman.” 

“Well, sir, I can scarcely say. Yestereven as 
we were riding from Harrow-on-the-Hill we were 
attacked by highwaymen, and my poor steed was 
killed. Captain Hawkins here dismounted one of 
the robbers, who afterwards escaped, being mightily 
frightened by the black visage of Toby there, and 
I was fain to mount the horse he left behind, or I 
should have had to tramp it to London.” 

“ Well, my lad, that’s soon settled. The worshipful 
justices are just now arriving, and I will soon have 
you freed, and anything these redbreasts havp done 
to annoy you shall be inquired into at once. ’Twas 
a mad trick though not to give notice of your 
having the highwayman’s horse.” 

“Sure, sir, you know what delay such a case causes, 
and as soon as our business in London is completed 
we want to get away north again ; and in that we 
shall ask for your kind assistance and favour.” 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince: 


35 


“ Time enough when I have got you and your 
friend out of this inferno.” 

I here interposed, and asked the worthy knight 
if he could not also use his interest with their 
worships on behalf of the sailors who had protected 
us whilst in the room into which we had first been 
taken, as otherwise their run ashore would soon be 
put an end to, and they would find themselves sent 
on board the tender off the Tower, commonly known 
as the “ London waggon ” for passage to the Nore. 

Sir John said, " That’^ right, captain, never forget 
a friend in need. I have no doubt their crime is 
a trivial one, that may be easily overlooked. I will 
now to the justices, and you two wait here till I 
come back.” 

Sir John soon came back with orders for our 
release and that of the seamen who had assisted 
us, and asked Tom Merrick and myself to come 
with him into the justices’ withdrawing-room, and 
there we gave an account of what had occurred, 
and had the pleasure of seeing the officers who had 
arrested us severely handled and forced to return 
the fifteen guineas they had screwed out of us. 

Sir John now bid us come to dine with him at 
two of the clock, when he said he would be glad 
to hear why we had come to town, and Tom and 
I calling a couple of chairs, returned to our tavern, 
followed by Toby and Stan den and the seamen 
whom Sir John had got released. 


36 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


CHAPTER IV. 

We at once ordered our morning meal, and then 
went to our chamber to arrange our dress for the 
day, and I put on my ^blue frock which I had 
regarded with so much pride at Liverpool, when 
Tom said, “Why, Bob my boy, you must get 
another dress than that, for I intend to make you 
visit the coffee-houses and see some of the wits and 
men of letters, and you will have to ruffle it with 
the best of them.” 

“ But, my dear Tom, I can’t pay for more now. 
The money I got from the owners of the Elizabeth 
has only served to replace all I had lost when I 
was wrecked in the West Indies, and I have only 
a few guineas left.” 

“Nonsense. I’m your paymaster. There’s your 
advance for the Black Prmce ; and besides, you are 
in London on business for my father and Mr. Floyd, 
and I must have the captain of the Black Prince 
able to hold his own when he appears before the 
Lords of the Admiralty to apply for the letter of 
marque. I will send for a tailor to bring some 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


37 


clothes, and as I must have a fit-out myself, we 
can choose at the same time.” 

When we had finished our breakfast the tailor 
who had been sent for arrived, accompanied by two 
porters carrying great packages, which he unfolded 
before us, and displayed coats and other garments 
of every cut, materia^ and colour. 

He was most voluble in his vaunting of his wares, 
and would have forced me into a pea-green satin 
coat with silver lace before I could look round, if 
Tom, who knew him of old, had not interfered. 

“Not so fast. Master Kersey. We are not bloods 
or mohocks, and we want none of that frippery, but 
something that a plain gentleman may wear.” 

“Certainly, your honour. Now here’s a scarlet 
coat would suit the gentleman admirably, especially 
if he would wear one of the new pattern wigs, 
just imported from France — the last fashion in 
wigs.” 

“ No, we want no Frenchified wigs. Let me see 
what you have, Fd have thee smack somewhat of 
salt water. Bob.” 

“ Is the gentleman a sea officer. Nay, then I have 
the very thing. Here is a dark blue coat with white 
facings ; it is the very fellow of one I made for the 
captain of his Majesty’s ship Raisonable a month 
ago. 

“Well, Bob,” said Merrick, “I do not see how 
you can do better than that. Now let me see for 


38 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


myself. Here, this plum-coloured velvet will do if 
it will fit me.” 

“ It will fit your honour like a glove. Now, would 
you not choose some others ? Permit me, the nights 
are somewhat cold, and this roquelaure is warm, 
and permits you to use your sword arm freely ; I 
fashioned it with that intent. No gentleman now 
knows when he may not have to draw ; the mohocks 
make the streets intolerable of a night.” 

So the little tailor chattered on, and Tom selected 
for us both, till I had to cry, “ Hold ! enough.” When 
the tailor was dismissed, he was succeeded by 
barber and bootmaker, and lastly by a swordmaker, 
and Tom insisted on my receiving, as a present 
from him, a handsome and serviceable cut-and- 
thrust sword. 

When we had, as Tom said, fitted out, it was 
time to go to Sir John Dormer’s for dinner, and 
we passed by the noble pile of St. Paul’s and 
along the busy street of Chepe, and were just 
passing the Mansion House, when we saw Sir John 
leaving it and entering his chair ; so we told our 
carriers to follow him, and arrived at great St. 
Helen’s just behind him. 

The worthy knight, when he saw us getting out 
of our chairs, welcomed us warmly, and said he had 
just received news at the Mansion House that war 
against France was to be declared on the morrow. 

That is what we came to town about, sir,” said 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince! 


39 


Tom. “ My father has a ship which he has just 
intrusted to Captain Hawkins here, and for which 
he desire to get a letter of marque, and we have 
come to beg your assistance in the same.” 

“ The war is .popular, and I suppose there will be 
no difficulty. Who are to be your sureties } ” 

“ Why, sir, my father thought he might trespass 
on your worship’s friendship, and ask you to become 
one, and I have powers from my father and his 
partner Mr. Floyd to enter into security on their 
behalf ; but I have all the papers here for your 
perusal, and you can give your answer when you 
have read them, and if necessary they will lodge 
a sum of money to indemnify you from any loss.” 

Well, Master Merrick, I will not give an answer 
now. But my wife and daughters must be waiting 
for us ; so even come with me and renew your 
acquaintance with them, and introduce your friend.” 

The wife of Sir John and his two handsome 
daughters we found waiting for us in an apartment 
furnished solidly and handsomely, but bearing 
many tokens of the softening presence of educated 
women ; and after Tom and I had made our bows, 
we proceeded to the dining-room, where Sir John 
exercised a most lavish hospitality, and where, as 
Tom whispered to me, some of the principal men 
in the state were by no means unknown. 

After dinner was finished the ladies left us, and 
Sir John entered upon the business which had 


40 


The Cruise of the Black Prince. 


brought us to town, and when he had read the 
papers we had brought with us, promised to accede 
to our request, and said that he would make an 
appointment for us to appear before the Lords of 
the Admiralty on the next day but one, and said 
he would in the mean time employ a scrivener to 
draw up all the necessary forms, so that our business 
might be got through with all possible despatch. 

When this conversation was finished, he said that 
no doubt Tom would want to visit some of the 
resorts of fashion, and show me something of 
London life if I was as yet ignorant of it, but that 
we were both to remember that during our stay in 
London his house was always open to us. 

On our returning to our hostelry we found that 
the seamen of whom we had obtained the release 
in the morning were there, and said that they heard 
I was going to command a privateer, and that they 
were ready to ship on board her. 

After some discussion, we decided on accepting 
their offer, and made arrangements for them to go 
to Liverpool by waggon, which, as they were fearful 
of the press-gang catching them up now war was 
about to be declared, they were ready enough to do ; 
and at the same time we thought it best to send 
Standen off to Liverpool with letters announcing 
our arrival in London and the declaration of war, 
and as he would have to travel hard and fast, we 
mounted him on the highwayman’s steed which had 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


41 


caused us so much trouble, and which we thought it 
was best to send away from London as soon as pos- 
sible, lest some more trouble might arise about him. 

As soon as this was done, Tom took me with 
him to see the coffee-houses, and at one he pointed 
out to me the famous Dr. Johnson, a huge short- 
sighted man, who seemed master of his company, 
and to brook very little contradiction from those 
by whom he was surrounded. In another Tom 
met some of his London friends, who professed 
themselves vastly pleased to see him, and proffered 
to show him and myself some of the high life of 
London, and invited us to sup with them at a 
tavern, near the theatre in Drury Lane, where there 
was much wine and witty conversation. It was 
nearly midnight when we parted, and we had to 
hire link boys to guide us to Holborn. As we 
were passing through a narrow and dark street, we 
heard a great noise, clashing of swords, and cries of 
Help,” “ Cowards,” “ Fairplay ; ” and hastening 
towards the sounds, we found a gentleman standing 
over a wounded man, and defending himself 
against the attacks of half a dozen ruffians. 

We instantly made in to his assistance, and after 
a few moments his cowardly assailants took to 
their heels and fled. The gentleman at once knelt 
down and began to feel the body of the man lying 
on the ground, lamenting most bitterly that he 
should be wounded. 


42 


The Cruise of the. ''‘Black Princel 


I and Tom aided him in the examination of the 
prostrate man, and found that he had been run 
through the shoulder, and also had received a blow 
on the head from a club or cudgel, with which one 
of the cowardly assailants had struck him from 
behind whilst he had been defending himself from 
the attacks of the others in front. Luckily his hat 
and wig had deadened the force of the blow, and 
he soon began to show signs of returning conscious- 
ness, and professed himself ready to walk home ; 
but on getting on his feet he found he could scarcely 
support himself, and as we found that he lived in 
a distant part of the town, we proposed to him and 
his companion to accompany us to our inn, which 
was close at hand. 

" Faith, gentlemen,” said the other, “ we are much 
indebted to you ; for I have no doubt that, but for 
your welcome aid, the rascals would soon have got 
the better of me, and we should both have been 
robbed and stripped, even if we had not been 
killed, for tlie watch, as is ever the case, were absent. 
See, here they come now, when the fray is over.” 

Sure enough we saw lanterns and men 
approaching, and four watchmen came to us and 
wanted to know what we were doing there, and 
said we must accompany them to the watchhouse 
for brawling in the streets. 

Surely, Bob,” said Tom to me, “ we are fated to 
get int(f trouble. This morning we were arrested as 


The Cridse of the Black Princel 


43 


highwaymen, and now we are going to be taken up 
as midnight brawlers.’^ 

“Pardon me, gentlemen,” said the unwounded 
one of our two new acquaintances, “I will soon 
settle with these fellows. Here, sirrah, you ought 
to look after those rascals who attacked us ; but if 
you will find a chair to put my friend in. I’ll give 
you a guinea. If you don’t, I’ll make this night 
a bad one for you.” 

“ Pardon, your honour,” said one of the watchmen ; 
“we understand matters now. There afe some 
chairmen who live in a court close by, and we will 
call them at once, if you will give us the guinea.” 

“ No, no ; I’m too old a salt for that. Bring the 
chair, and then I’ll give you the guinea, as sure as 
my name is George Dormer.” 

“ What! is your name Dormer?” said Tom. “Are 
you any relation of Sir John ? ” 

“ Certainly ; I have the honour to be his nephew, 
and a lieutenant in his Majesty’s fleet. Do you 
know my uncle ? ” 

“ Yes ; we came to town on purpose to transact 
some business with him, and only to-day dined 
with him at his house in Great St. Helen’s.” 

“ What, are you the captain of the privateer that 
is going to fit out at Liverpool } ” 

“ No ; but my friend here. Captain Hawkins, is, 
and I am the son of one of the owners,” 

“ Well, our acquaintance has only began sooner 


44 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


than it would otherwise have done, for I purposed 
paying you a visit to-morrow to make some pro- 
posals to you. But here comes the chair. Come, 
Will,” to his friend, “ get into this chair, and we will 
go with these gentlemen to their inn.” 

The wounded man, whose name we found was 
“ Will Griffiths,” was placed in the chair, and we 
soon arrived at the inn, where we at once dispatched 
a messenger to fetch a surgeon, who, on his arrival, 
said that Mr. Griffiths’s injuries were not dangerous^ 
though he would have to lie by for a few days. 

George Dormer said he would watch by him for. 
the night, and that in the morning he would broach 
to us the business about which he had intended to 
come and see us. So after a bowl of punch, in which 
the surgeon, though he forbade it to his patient, 
joined us, we, with mutual good nights, sought 
our sleeping chambers. 

In the morning Toby called me and Tom, and 
said, “ Sailor officer wish for speak massa.” 

“All right, Toby ; tell him we shall be down in a 
moment ; ” and dressing ourselves, we went down to 
a sitting-room, where we found George Dormer 
waiting for us. 

As we entered the room he rose from a chair on 
which he was sitting, and coming towards us, said, 
“ Good morning, gentlemen, I must thank you both 
most warmly, on behalf of my friend and myself, 
for your most welcome assistance, last night, for 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


45 


without your aid those rascals must soon have got 
the better of me ; and even as it is I have had a 
narrower escape than I thought. See here, look at 
my coat ; one of their swords passed through under 
my right arm.” 

We both professed ourselves only too glad to 
have been of any use to a gentleman of his merit, 
and a relation of the worshipful Sir John Dormer, 
and inquired how his friend did. 

“Well enough; he is sleeping like a child now. 
Poor Will ! he was going to show me some London 
life, and we fell in among pirates, who would have 
treated us worse than the buccaneers on the 
Spanish main use their prisoners. But now, 
gentlemen, I want to know if your ship could 
call at the Canaries on her way to the Guinea 
coast } ” 

“ Well,” I replied, “ it is not usual ; but no doubt, 
if the owners consented, it could be easily done. 
What say you, Tom ? ” 

“It depends, of course, on my father and Mr. 
Floyd ; but I have no doubt it could be arranged 
with them.” 

“If so,” said the lieutenant, “I beg to offer 
myself as mate, if the post is still vacant.” 

“It is vacant; but surely you, a king’s officer, 
would not serve on board a privateer ? ” 

“ It may seem strange to you, gentlemen, but 
I have a pressing need to visit the Grand Canary, 


46 


The Cruise of the Black Prince' 


and I see no other way of accomplishing my 
desire.’* 

I said that I should be proud and happy to 
avail myself of his services, but reminded him 
that we were rougher in our manners than in the 
king’s ships, and that he might have to put up 
with worse fare and accommodation than he was 
accustomed to. 

“ I don’t mind that ; but I think under Commo- 
dore Anson I learnt what hard living meant — and 
visit Las Palmas I must.” 

Tom said that the whole question would turn 
upon the cost and delay the visit would entail. 

“ Well, then, I think you will agree, for my uncle, 
when I proposed my plan to him that night, after 
he had told me of your visit to London and its 
object, fully approved of my plans when I explained 
them to him. Will you now come with me to his 
house ? I can leave Will here safely ; perhaps you 
would allow your servant to watch by his bedside?” 

This we readily agreed to, and accompanied him 
at once to Great St. Helen’s. On our way we saw 
the heralds and trumpeters in front of the Exchange 
make public declaration of war against France, 
amidst the huzzas and clamour of an excited 
multitude, who were all indignant at the treachery, 
as they called it, of the French nation. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


47 


CHAPTER V. 

On arriving at Sir John’s residence we found the 
worthy knight in his counting-house, and when he 
saw us, he said, Why, Master George, you are here 
betimes ; I did not expect you for another hour. He 
must have come to you, gentlemen, at a very early 
hour this morning ? ” 

** Why, uncle, we met last night ; and if it had 
not been for the assistance of Captain Hawkins 
and Mr. Merrick, you would not have seen your 
graceless nephew George here this morning, for 
a band of ruffians set on me and Will Griffiths 
last night, and poor Will was wounded, and 1 had 
to hold my own single-handed against six cut- 
throat vagabonds until your friends struck in to 
assist me.” 

“ The condition of the streets is disgraceful. But 
where is poor Will ? He is not as accustomed to 
hard knocks as you seafaring men.” 

“He’s lying at the Golden Lion in Holborn, 
where these gentlemen are lodging, and has been 
skilfully coopered up by a surgeon we called in, 


48 


Tlu Cruise of the Black Princel 


and doubtless will be as sound as a roach in a 
few days. But now, uncle, I have spoken to 
Captain Hawkins and Mr. Merrick about their 
ship calling at the Canaries and my sailing in her, 
there seems to be no objection except money. 
You know my reasons, and that I can afford to 
pay for the cost. Will you assure them of this ? ” 

“ Certainly, George, I am willing to do this ; but 
there is more than cost. If you are to succeed, you 
must run a considerable risk, and you must in fair- 
ness tell them about that. Shall I say what you 
want, if you are too shamefaced to do so yourself?” 

“Yes, uncle, you can do so.” 

“ Now, gentlemen, this scapegrace of a nephew 
of mine has been charmed by the black eyes and 
raven tresses of a Spanish lady, and he has never 
been able to win the consent of her family to her 
wedding an Englishman and a heretic ; and now 
he has heard that his lady-love has been taken 
to Las Palmas by her uncle, who has been ap- 
pointed by his Catholic Majesty governor of the 
Canaries. And it is to Las Palmas you will have 
to go if you carry out his plans. The lady is 
nothing loth to come away with George if he can 
arrange it ; but she has to be smuggled out of the 
island, and he wants to attempt to do it with your 
aid. I have no son, since my poor lad is dead, 
killed on the bridge at Dettingen ; and I look upon 
George as my heir, and anything that will make 


The Cf'uise of the Black Princel 


49 


him happy I am willing to do, though why he could 
not wed a bonny English lass, I know not. There 
is danger and risk, as you must see ; but I will leave 
it to you. Captain Hawkins, and you, Mr. Merrick, 
whether you will entertain his proposal.” 

1 replied that what I could do should be done, 
but that I thought the decision would have to rest 
with Tom’s father and Mr. Floyd, and that until 
I had heard further the plans of the lieutenant, I 
could not judge of their feasibility. 

“ Certainly, Captain Hawkins. I will leave it to 
George to tell his own story, now that I have 
launched him fairly. And now I have news for 
you both. I sent a letter to the first Lord of the 
Admiralty yesterday, and he has promised to 
receive us to-morrow at noon, so I will call for 
you in my coach at your inn to-morrow at eleven 
of the clock, and carry you both down to the Navy 
office. Now, George, Fm busy, as I have to supply 
the Government with many things on account of 
this war with France ; so you take care of your two 
friends. Remember, dinner is at two o’clock, gentle- 
men, if you are inclined to honour my poor house ; 
and till then I must wish you God speed.” 

On our leaving Sir John, George Dormer pro- 
posed that we should take a boat at the Tower 
and, landing at Westminster, go for a stroll in the 
Mall, where we should see all the world of fashion 
and perchance even have a glimpse of the king and 

E 


50 


*1 he Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


c^ueen, as he said that he thought his friend would 
be best left alone ; and then asked us to excuse him 
for a moment whilst he paid his respects to his 
aunt and cousins, unless we chose to accompany 
him. 

Fearful of intruding, we said we would wait for 
him, and in a few minutes he came and told us 
that, instead of dining, he had promised that we 
should sup with his aunt, when we should meet 
some of his uncle’s and aunt’s friends, and he pro- 
posed that after a stroll in the Mall we should dine 
on board the Folly. To this Tom at once acceded, 
and we made our way down to the river, and calling 
a wherry, we pulled up to the stairs at Westminster, 
where we landed and made our way to the Mall, 
which was crowded with fashionable people of both 
sexes, many of the ladies being attended by black 
pages, one of whom, according to George Dormer, 
was as necessary a part of the equipment of a 
lady of fashion as a full-bottomed wig and a 
clouded cane of that oT a macaroni. 

Here we soon found a seat on some benches 
under the trees, and were immediately assailed by 
the drawers from neighbouring taverns, who pressed 
us to order some wine ; and so, to be free from their 
importunity, we ordered a flagon of Bourdeaux, 
and whilst we were sipping it, George Dormer 
pointed out to us the different notabilities. After 
a time he exclaimed — 


The Cruise of the Black Prince', 


51 


“ Here is one of the most extraordinary men in 
London coming this way. He was once a doctor’s 
mate on board a king’s ship, and if all he says is 
irue, has been the hero of some most extraordinary 
adventures ; but he has married a wife with money, 
and now sets up for a backer of fashion, in which 
he is to some extent successful. And besides money, 
he is possessed of most unbounded assurance. He 
is always followed about by a quaint fellow, whom 
he calls his valet ; but, if all is true, he and this man 
for many reasons should change places, but the 
‘valet master,’ as some call him, is apparently con- 
tent always to be a satellite to the great Roderick 
Random.” 

“ Roderick Random ! ” I exclaimed. “ Why, is he 
the man that was a doctor’s mate at the time of the 
taking of Porto Bello } ” 

“ Yes ; he is said to ascribe the fall of Porto Bello 
to his own talents and bravery.” 

“ Why, I saved him from drowning there, and he . 
vowed immortal friendship.” 

“ Well, that is a reason to speak to him now. I 
will send and say an old friend wishes to speak to 
him. Here, fellow ” — to one of the drawers who was 
hovering about us — “d’ye you know which is Mr. 
Random ? ” 

“Certain, sir. Many’s the flask I’ve brought him 
here where your honours are sitting.” 

“Just you go at once, then, to him and say that 


52 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


a very old friend wishes him to share in a bottle oi 
wine.” 

“Shall I say the gentleman’s name, your wor- 
ship .? ” 

“ No ; go and give the message. There,” said 
Dormer, as the man left, “ Roderick Random will be 
sure to come to us on that. He is with some fine 
ladies now, but he will always desert them for the 
bottle ; and it will be an excuse for him to leave 
Mistress Random, who, now she has him secured, 
keeps a pretty tight hand on him. Mark how 
that fellow I have sent hovers around. Now you 
see he is opening negotiations with Random’s 
inseparable, the valet. Now the valet speaks tc 
Random, and see, he is making his congee to th;i 
ladies and is coming here to us.” 

I could scarcely recognize in the rather over- 
dressed man who now came towards us, with his 
suuff-box in his hand and his cane under his arm, 
the man whom I had saved so many years before 
when his dress was of the shabbiest and scantiest, 
and he hardly knew how to eke out his ship’s 
rations so as to provide himself with enough 
to eat, and indeed was often glad enough of an 
excuse to attend sick on board the transports and 
merchantmen accompanying Admiral Vernon’s 
fleet to get the satisfaction of a good meal. 

He evidently did not recognize me, for when he 
came within three paces of us he halted, made us 


The Cruise of the Black Prince'. 


53 


a profound bow, and said, “ I am at your service, 
gentlemen; but your messenger told me that an old 
friend wished me to share a flask of wine with him. 
Know that Roderick Random is not to be made a 
butt of with impunity. Which of you has sent for 
me on a fool’s errand.” 

I was about to speak, when George Dormer said, 
“ Surely, Mr. Random, no one would attempt any 
incivility with a gentleman of your parts ; but surely 
you must remember Captain Hawkins, who rescued 
you from drowning at Porto Bello.” 

“ What, my preserver ! Fortune is indeed favour 
able that she permits me to embrace my saviour ; ” 
and rushing at me, he folded me in his arms, and 
kissed me on either cheek, and then calling to the 
drawer “ Here, sirrah, bring us at once a flask of 
your best, and, hark ye, no delay.” 

We told him that we had invited him to join us, 
but he would not be denied, and turning to his 
servant, said, “Strap, wilt tell thy mistress that I have 
here discovered the saviour of my life of whom I 
have so often spoken, and say that I crave leave to 
present him to her.” 

Strap at once went away with this message, and 
we could see Mrs. Random, who was an elderly 
lady dressed with an affectation of extreme youth, 
looking at us through her spying-glass, and, after 
some parley with Strap, despatched him witf a 
favourable reply to Mr. Random’s request. 


54 


The Cruise of the Black Princel' 


In the mean time I had introduced my friends 
and said something of the business which had 
brought me to town, and Mr. Random assured me 
that his interest was very great, and that whatever 
I had to ask, I might count upon as being granted, 
as he would make a point of speaking to the 
minister on my behalf. 

When Strap returned, he said that his mistress 
would be most pleased to receive any friends of 
his master, and accompanying Mr. Random, we all 
went and made our bows to his wife and her 
companions. 

Mistress Random was most gracious in her man- 
ner, and assured me that she must be ever grateful 
to the preserver of her husband’s life at a time 
when he was obliged, by the enmity of his relations, 
to keep away from England for a period ; and, 
bidding us be present at a rout she was giving on 
the following evening, she permitted us to depart, 
charging Mr. Random not to be later than five 
o’clock, as they had to attend at a levee given by 
Lady Furbelow at that hour. 

After many bows and reverences, we returned to 
our seats, where we found the drawer awaiting us 
with the fresh flask, and we all entered into con- 
versation, Mr. Random’s description of his many 
and varied adventures being most entertaining. 
He begged us to give the post of surgeon on board 
the Black Prince to a young man whom he said 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


55 


had been sent to him with the highest testimonials, 
and for whom he had intended to obtain the post 
of surgeon’s mate on board a man-of-war, but who 
he thought would be better bestowed with us, and 
of whose capabilities and acquirements he gave a 
most glowing description. 

We asked to have this prodigy sent to our inn 
with his testimonials, and promised that if he 
seemed fitted for the post he should be given it, 
and then we proposed going on board the Folly 
to dine. 

Why, the Folly ! ’Tis a low haunt ; apprentices 
and adventurers frequent it. I would rather we 
should dine at some tavern of repute.” 

“ No,” said George Dormer. “ I wish Captain 
Hawkins to see the Folly; there is no place that 
I have seen like it, and the very admixture of 
which you speak renders the society the more 
entertaining. I am often amused to see persons 
supposed to be of the highest respectability and 
decorum there, playing the rake with some notorious 
demirep ; and as for the society, if you do see some 
cutpurses and highwaymen, you may also rub 
shoulders with dukes and lords.” 

“ Well, let it be so ; but, gentlemen, you must 
permit me to be your host on the happy occasion 
of my meeting my preserver, and I propose that 
we take a stroll to give us an appetite for our 
dinner.” 


56 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


To this we consented, and it astonished me to see 
how many persons of the highest fashion Mr. Ran- 
dom was acquainted with, and how all the time we 
’ were in the Mall he was exchanging bows and 
salutations with the frequenters of that fashionable 
resort 

Just as we were leaving to make our way to the 
river-bank the cry was raised that the king was 
coming, and all the crowd of idlers drew up as his 
Majesty walked up and down the centre of the 
Mall, attended by the Duke of Newcastle and 
several courtiers, but evidently, though respect was 
generally paid the king and his entourage^ they 
were both unpopular, and some confusion was 
caused by some persons in the throng making out- 
cries about Hanoverian and Hessian troops, whom 
the king was at that time desirous of bringing into 
England. All this seemed most strange to me 
who had always thought of England as a nation, 
and had never paid heed to the different parties 
Certainly I remembered the attempt of the young 
Chevalier, but now that the Protestant succession 
was assured, I had, in my simple sailor mind, 
supposed that all the differences were healed, and 
that we could show an united front against any 
foe. 

News had arrived of the danger of Minorca, 
and this had added to the dissatisfaction of the 
nation with the king and his ministers, and as 


Thb Cruise of the Black Prhicel 


57 


Mr. Random told us there was a great deal of 
sympathy with the Jacobites still felt in London. 

The king soon withdrew into St. James’ Palace, 
and we, making our way through the throng, took 
boat from the Savoy, and went on board the float- 
ing hostelry and tavern yclept the Folly ; and here 
Mr. Random at once ordered us a private compart- 
ment, where we could dine at our ease and apart 
from the general company, but where we could still 
see the guests, whose variety formed one of the 
charms of the Folly. We were much pestered at 
first by the flower-girls, who pressed us to buy 
bouquets, but were at length routed by the strategy 
of Strap, who kept close to his master’s shoulder. 

As we sat at dinner we were much entertained 
by the description given us of people who passed 
near. One was a Jesuit priest, another a common 
pickpocket, another a noble peer, another a horse 
jockey ; verily, it was the most extraordinary medley 
that I had ever seen. At last there came one tall 
handsome-looking fellow, who evidently was the 
centre of much attention, whom we first remarked 
from his swaggering air, and then his features 
seemed familiar to both Tom and myself and Strap. 
On asking him who he was, as his master professed 
his ignorance, he said it was the great Captain Star- 
light, a notorious highwayman ; and then it at once 
flashed upon us that this was the cavalier who had 
attacked us after leaving Harrow-on-the-Hiil, ard 


S8 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


the possession of whose horse had caused us so 
much trouble. 

I was for at once sending for an officer and 
causing his arrest, but my companions dissuaded 
me, saying that long before an officer could be 
found he would be away, and that the attempt to 
bring one on board the Folly, which was a licensed 
alsatin, would cause a riot and disturbance. 

Captain Starlight evidently thought himself in 
perfect safety, for he had the assurance as he passed 
near us to touch his hat and ask us how his horse 
was, and to apologize for the inconvenience to 
which we had been put by being mistaken for him. 
It was with difficulty that my companions re- 
strained me from chastising him then and there ; 
but he passed on with a nod and a swagger, and 
was soon lost in the crowd. 

Our friend Mr. Random seemed so determined 
on celebrating our meeting in a festive manner, 
that we were obliged to plead our being engaged 
in order to get away before the wine had made an 
inroad on our senses ; and giving Strap the name 
of our inn, we proceeded there, to inquire after our 
wounded friend, whom we had almost fogotten. 

When we arrived at the Golden Lion, and in- 
quired for Mr. Griffiths, we were told that he had 
got up, and, professing himself very hungry, had 
called for a beefsteak and a tankard of ale, which 
he was even then discussing. As we went into 


The Cruise of the ^^Black Prince: 


59 


the room he opened out on George Dormer, and 
began rating him good-humouredly for having left 
him so long. 

He said that his head was rather painful, but 
that he thought that both that and the wound in 
his shoulder would soon be well. 

‘‘All right, Will ; but Fm going to send you home 
to your people, as Fm going to leave London in a 
few days, and I don’t think you can be trusted by 
yourself. Now you can dress, and put your arm in 
a sling, and then you may come with us to my 
aunt’s house.” 

We could see Mr. Griffiths’s face light up at this 
proposal, and he said there was nothing that would 
please him better, and as he left the room to get 
ready. George said that he thought it was not 
Lady Dormer that he wanted to see, but one of 
her fair daughters. 


6o 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


CHAPTER VI. 

The evening at Lady Dormer’s was a pleasant 
one, both she and her daughters making much of 
Tom Merrick and myself, for what they were 
pleased to term our bravery ; and as for Mr. 
Griffiths, I think he’d have been contented to be 
wounded every day in the week if it always 
resulted in such tender pity and care being 
lavished on him. George Dormer laughed at this, 
and told the story of the steak and the tankard, 
at which Lady Dormer said she would have no 
more such pranks, and that Master Griffiths should 
lie at her house, and gave orders for a bed to be 
prepared for him. 

At about ten o’clock, the company began to 
disperse, so, wishing our friends good night, Tom 
and I, with George Dormer, returned to the Golden 
Lion, and there George told us some more of his 
love tales. It seemed that he was employed on 
the Mediterranean in a man-of-war, when they fell 
in with a Spanish craft which had just been captured 
by an Algerian corsair and set on fire. On board 


The Cruise of the Black Prmcel 


6 


the burning ship they found some wounded men, 
who had been left to their fate by the pirates, and 
from them they learnt that a Spanish nobleman 
and his niece who had been on board had been 
taken prisoners, together with the remainder of 
the crew, and that their captors had made off to 
the south-west. 

His Majesty’s ship Revenge^ on board which 
ship George was serving, made sail in chase, and 
the corsair fortunately, having been crippled in 
her action with the Spanish vessel, was overtaken 
that same night, and became an easy prize to the 
English. The Spanish captives, among whom were 
Don Luis da Sotomayor, a grandee of the first class, 
and his niece, Donna Juanita, were, together with 
their captors, brought on board the Revenge, ai d 
while the captain of the corsair, who was an 
English renegade, was hung, his Turkish companions 
were reserved to be exchanged for English galley 
slaves. 

A few days after, a Spanish Polocca ship was 
fallen in with, bound for Cartagena, and all the 
Spaniards and corsairs were transferred to her, 
and George Dormer sent with them in charge 
of a guard of seamen. 

During the voyage to Cartagena, and his stay 
there, which lasted some considerable time, George 
and the fair Juanita were much in each other’s 
company, and became mutually enamoured of each 


62 


The Cruise of the Black Prince. 




other, and George asked Don Luis to permit their 
union. This was refused, and George had to leave 
Cartagena soon after, but had, by means of some 
correspondents of his uncle’s who were established 
there, heard of Don Luis da Sotomayor having 
been appointed Governoi>General of the Canaries, 
and also had received letters from the fair Donna 
herself, saying that she would if he could manage it 
at any time be ready to make her escape with him, 
as her uncle and the priests wished to force her 
to marry her cousin, a son of Don Luis, whom she 
hated and detested. 

George, who had been intending to go to Spain 
before he received this letter, had been lately casting 
about for a means of going to Las Palmas, and 
he thought that our ship afforded him the best 
opportunity that he was likely to get. 

I, separated in a somewhat similar manner from 
Muriel Penmore, fully sympathized with him, and 
offered my cordial assistance, while Tom Merrick 
said it would only add a little interest to a vo}'age 
which he hoped would be both exciting and 
eventful. 

Next day, at the hour he had named. Sir John 
called for us in his coach, and proceeding to the 
Navy board, the question of our obtaining a letter 
of marque against the French was easily arranged, 
and the necessary documents were drawn up, and 
my name was inserted as captain of the Black 


The O'ttise of the Black Princel 


<53 


Pyifice. The sealing, stamping, and paying of fees 
took some two or three days longer, and then 
bidding farewell to our London friends, Tom 
Merrick, George Dormer, and myself set out for 
Liverpool, accompanied by one Donald McAllister, 
who was the surgeon recommended by Mr. Random, 
and who had such testimonials as fully warranted 
us in giving him the berth. 

Our journey for the first three days was unevent- 
ful, but on the evening of the fourth a horseman 
joined oiir party, and said, “Good evening, gentle- 
men. May I ride with you ? ” It was rather dark 
at the time, and we readily assented ; but shortly 
after, a gleam of moonlight falling on our com- 
panion, showed him to be no other than our old 
acquaintance Captain Starlight, mounted on the 
self-same horse which had caused us so much 
trouble before. 

I at once drew my pistol, when he said, “ Pray 
do not be hasty. Captain Hawkins. I am quite 
alone, and would fain have a little conversation 
with you.” 

I said, “ What have you done with the man we 
sent away on that horse ? ” 

“Oh, he’s safe enough. Here is a letter saying 
that at Harrow-on-the-Hill the horse was claimed 
and another given him. He was made to go on by 
threats, or he would have retu\ ned to tell you of it ; 
but long ere this he is safe in Liverpool, and the 


The Cruise of the Black Prmcei 




horse he was provided with was a good one, and I 
gave him a paper which wouM protect him from 
all gentlemen of the road ? ” and he handed me a 
scrap of paper, on which Standen had scrawled his 
name as witness to a statement that the story that 
Captain Starlight had told us was true. 

I asked what made Captain Starlight come to us 
now, and he replied — 

“I was once a seaman, and am of respectable 
family, but having been implicated in the Jacobite 
rising, I have been forced to become a highwayman, 
but I have never cared for the life, and now if you 
will take me in your ship as a foremast hand, you 
shall never have cause to regret it.” 

There was something so open and frank in his 
manner, that I and my companions said we would 
consider his proposal and give him our answer on 
our arrival at Liverpool, whither he could accompany 
us if he chose. 

He thanked us, and, telling us that his name was 
Ralph Trevor, fell back alongside Toby, whom we 
told to look after him,' telling him he had been taken 
for the devil on the night when he had attacked us. 

We reached Liverpool without further adventure 
of any sort, and I was glad to find that the work 
of fitting out the Black Prince had proceeded apace 
during my absence, and that now she only required 
her guns and cargo to be placed aboard, and her 
sails bent, to be ready for sea. 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince. 


65 


Messrs. Merrick and Floyd had received our 
letters by the hand of Standen, who said the ex- 
change of horses had been carried out in the 
ci vilest manner imaginable, and that the paper 
that had been given him had proved of use when 
on two occasions he had been stopped by highway- 
m.en. The seamen we had sent down by the 
we found had arrived, and according to 
Mr. Trenal’s report were all good working hands, 
so that with them and the men I had shipped 
before leaving for London, and some who had been 
engaged during my absence we had very nearly a 
full ship’s company. 

The morning after our arrival my host Pye came 
to me, and said there was a sailor wishing to speak 
to me. I at once went to see who it was, and found 
Ralph Trevor changed from the dashing horseman 
who had accompanied us on the road into a smart 
seaman. He said he now wished his horse to pass 
into good hands, and hoped that we would give 
him the chance he had asked for by letting him 
ship as a sailor in the Black Prince ; to this I now 
agreed, and said also that I would ask Mr. Merrick 
to take his horse into his stables, where it would be 
sure to be well looked after. For this he thanked 
me, and said that he had news that press-gangs 
were being sent out in all directions, and that unless 
we got away to sea quickly, even our letter of 
marque might not prevent us losing some of our 


66 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


men. I thanked him, and, giving him a note to 
Mr. Trenal, told him to go on board and turn to 
work, whilst I went down to Mr. Merrick’s. George 
Dormer came with me, and we were soon busy dis- 
cussing whether we should be able to fall in with his 
plans for carrying off his lady-love from Las Palmas. 

At first Mr. Merrick looked upon the undertaking 
as quite an impracticable one, and that it would 
most probably result in the loss of the ship and our 
falling into the hands of the Inquisition, which in 
these Canary Islands still kept up its worst tradi- 
tions. George argued strongly in favour of our 
sending in a boat, and then he was sure he would 
find some safe means of communicating with 
Donna Juanita and arranging some plan for her 
escape from her uncle’s guardianship. This plan 
Mr. Merrick would not listen to, when Mr. Floyd 
said — 

“ Why can’t you visit one of the other islands — 
say, Lanzerotc — and get hold of an island craft, 
man her with your men except enough to speak 
and land in the boat, and keep the greater portion 
of her crew on board the Black Prince^ as hbstages 
for those you take not betraying you ? ” 

“ That, certainly, we could do. That shall be the 
plan. Mr. Floyd, you must be in love yourself,” 
said George. 

Mr. Floyd, who was an old bachelor, said that 
he had almost forgotten all about such things, and 


The Cniise of the Black Prhicel 


67 


he thought that it was owing to love being blind 
that George had not hit upon such an obvious plan 
before. 

I now looked at the list of seamen who had been 
shipped. Counting Jack Jago and his friends, 
twenty-five men had been shipped before I went 
to London, and then there were the six whose 
acquaintance we had made in the watchhouse, 
and twelve more had been shipped since ; so that, 
counting our highwayman, we had now forty-four 
men before the mast. 

“ Come, sir,” I said, “ that’s enough to work the 
ship, but not to fight her. I should like another 
twenty seamen ; and then if I could get a gang 
of slaves like those I had on board the Elizabeth^ 
we should be able to do very well.” 

In this George agreed with me, and I therefore 
sent him on board to see the work carried on, 
and station the men properly, while I and Tom 
Merrick went to the slave market to see if we 
could find only slaves there who would serve our 
purpose, and this we were fortunate enough to do, 
as two or three ships had lately come home from 
the West Indies, who had had to fill up losses 
caused in their crews by yellow fever with negroes, 
and of these we were able to select some twenty 
fine hearty fellows, whom, when they had bought, 
Mr. Merrick and Mr. Floyd took before the mayor, 
and gave certificates of freedom. 


68 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


On their being shipped I had to make a 
declaration as follows : — 

‘‘This is to certify whom it may concern 
that in the month of May one thousand seven 
hundred and fifty- six” (here followed the names 
of the negroes and their places of birth) “free black 
men voluntarily entered themselves on board the 
ship Black Prince of and belonging to the port 
of Liverpool in the County of Lancaster and 
Kingdom of Great Britain and that since they 
have been freed they have continued in Liverpool 
aforesaid exercising and enjoying their freedom 
in as ample and beneficial manner to all intents 
and purposes whatsoever as any free subject of 
this realm and that the said black men intend to 
sail in the said Black Prince with Robert Hawkins 
on her now intended round voyage from Liverpool 
to Guinea and the West Indies returning to 
Liverpool. 

“Witness my hand at Liverpool aforesaid this 
twenty-third day of May 1756 

“Robert Hawkins.” 

“To ALL TO WHOM these presents may come 
I Stephen Hollis of Liverpool in the County of 
Lancaster and Kingdom of Great Britain mayor 
of the said town do certify that on the day and 
year above written before me personally appeared 
Robert Hawkins and by solemn oath upon God’s 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


65 


Holy Gospels before me deposed to be true the 
contents of the above-written certificate and 
“In faith and testimony whereof I the said 
Stephen Hollis at the request of the said Robert 
Hawkins have caused the seal of my office to be 
affixed the day and year aforesaid 

‘‘Stephen Hollis” 



This having been settled, I myself went on board 
the ship, and found that the lighters with her guns 
and arms had come alongside, and that George 
Dormer had made a start in hoisting them in, and 
was by no means sorry to see the twenty blacks 
I had brought to give him a pull. Jago was in his 
element, placing the guns ; but I had to break him 
off, and leave this work to John Beer, and tell him 
to go ashore and beat me up another twenty men, 
which, as he could say now that the letter of 
marque had been granted, I did not anticipate 
that he would have any trouble in doing the same 
day. 

The main-deck we armed with seven eighteen- 
pounders on either side, and on the quarter-deck 
and forecastle we mounted twelve-pounders, and 
on the poop four six-pounders, whilst the tops 
and rails were provided with a plentiful supply 
of swivel pieces and musquetoons. 


JO 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


Under Dormer’s active superintendence, matters 
soon began to assume an orderly appearance. 
Racks for muskets, pikes, and pistols, were fitted 
wherever experience pointed out that they were 
necessary, and when at the end of the day we 
knocked off work, I had the satisfaction of knowing 
that in four days more we could drop down to the 
bar ready to sail with the first favourable wind. 

When Messrs. Merrick and Floyd heard this, 
they said they would draw up my sailing orders, 
but that very much would necessarily have to be 
left to my own discretion, especially in the matter 
of George Dormer’s enterprise, and told me that 
they would have them ready for me before sailing. 
At my inn I found Black Jack waiting for me 
with twice the number of men I had sent him 
to look for, and had no difficulty in picking out 
a good set of seasoned hardy men who were all 
good seamen. 

The next three days were fully occupied in 
bending sails, stowing cargo, and getting provisions 
and water on board, and McAllister busied him- 
self in making all preparations for the fitting treat- 
ment of wounded in action, until, when I was able 
to report the Black Prince ready for sea, George 
Dormer said that he had never seen any ship, not 
even one of his Majesty’s, so perfectly prepared for 
all that might happen. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


71 


CHAPTER VIL 

At last all being ready, we loosed the fore-topsail 
and fired a gun as a signal for all to come on 
board, and soon after we unmoored, and then Mr. 
Merrick and Mr. Floyd came on board with a party 
of friends, to accompany us as far as the bar, and 
wish us Godspeed. The wind was blowing from 
the north-eastward and a bright sun was shining, 
and everything seemed to augur well for a 
prosperous voyage. 

As soon as the owners and their friends were on 
board, I gave orders to Dormer to make sail and 
weigh, and, casting towards the Liverpool shore, 
we ran down the river under jib and topsails 
against the end of the flood tide, having in tow 
a well-manned barge to take our visitors back to 
the shore. 

As the wind was fair, we did not propose 
anchoring outside, and Mr. Merrick, after address- 
ing a few words of advice to the crew and wishing 
us all Godspeed, handed me a copy of my orders. 
He then drained a bumper with us, and, with Mr. 


72 


The Cruise of the Black Princei 


Floyd and his friends, left us, bidding me be careful 
of his son, and not to run too great a risk in 
Lieutenant Dormer’s project of making a bold 
stroke for a bride. We hove to, and hauled the 
boat up to let him leave, and as the boat shoved 
off we manned the rigging, and gave three hearty 
cheers, supplemented by a salvo from our main- 
deck guns. 

I now gave the orders to fill and make sail, and 
we shaped our course so as to give us a good 
offing, and then set the watch. This being done, 
and after having had a careful look round, I 
gave charge of the deck to Mr. Trenal, and, call- 
ing Dormer, Merrick, and the surgeon into the great 
cabin, I read my orders to them, which were as 
f )llows : — 

** Liverpool. 

"Captain Robert Hawkins 

"You being now ready to sail in our ship 
Black Prince with cargo on board agreeable 
to the annexed invoice are with the first 
I opportunity to sail and make the best of 
^ your way to the Canary Islands where if 
without imminent risk you see prospect of 
its accomplishment you are to the best of your 
endeavours to aid Lieutenant George Dormer 
now sailing as your mate in his intention of 
bringing away from Las Palmas the lady Donna 
Juanita da Sotomayor. If you are successful 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


73 


in this enterprise or deem it too hard for accom- 
plishment you are to make the best of your 
way to the African Coast and there barter your 
cargo for Slaves, Ivory, Camwood, and what other 
articles may offer an advantage to your cre- 
dence. We would not have you purchase any 
old or very young slaves as they are found on 
experiance not to be profitable. When you arrive 
on the coast the first thing you will have to do 
will be to inform yourself of what quantity of goods 
the ships are paying per head, that information 
you may get from the Kings deputy who resides 
at the place of trade, but observe you must be 
always on your guard so far as to think before you 
speak, if you dont you lay yourself open to the 
person you wish to get information from and take 
particular care how you make any promise to any 
of the Traders, the Kings officers or any black 
oerson you may have transactions with in business, 
don’t deceive them always leave every place in 
Africa in such a manner that the Natives will be 
glad to see you again. Disputs between the 
blick Traders and Captains of ships are often 
brought on by entering into agreements to have 
their slaves at such a price, you are not to enter 
into any such agreement nor even meet on such 
business, you go to Africa to make your purchas 
on the best terms you can according as the times 
are but not to throw your cargo away but make 


74 


The Crtiise of the ''Black Princel^ 


the most of it as the times arc, Keep your mind 
to yourself and the best temprance your keep the 
better both for your owners interest and your own 
health, one half of the Captains that die at Africa 
is owing to intemprance, them that drink the least 
wine or any intoxicating liquors are the best off 
he that drinks the most tea and coffee, he is the 
fittest for business, his head is always clear, there 
is no part of Africa but the Black Traders very 
soon find the weak side of a man they do business 
with, if you purchase indififrent people at begining 
of your Trade you will never see but indiffrent 
ones, as sure as you see a man with his head clean 
shaved you may be sure he is old and gray headed 
every one you purchas grown up or young see 
they have a good leg broad on the brest, not very 
short necks, let there be a proportion in their make 
according to the age of growing people. When you 
have finished your trade there is a custom of pay- 
ing your Broker or King’s Officer according to 
the service he has done for you be sure you have 
a reserve of goods for that purpose — and take 
particular care how your provisions go on for your 
White and black people, mind your water for your 
middle passage, take care none of your ships 
Compa. are ill treated and mind your ships 
Compa. are not suffered to use any of the Slaves 
with the least severety on any acc. whatever, 
be calm and steady at the begining of your Voyage, 


The Crtitse of the Black Prince^ 


75 


use no boysterus ill language to your Crew only 
let them know you are Master of the Ship and 
will be so. Then you will prevent many disputs 
during your Voyage, a noisey swearing man never 
can carry a good Command, a drunkard of any 
denomination on shore or on board ship is allmost 
to much to bear with in the Common Sailor or 
Officer, but more so in the Cap. who should 
shew a good example to his Officers and Ship’s 
compa. Forced courage is only a state of mad- 
ness, true Courage is never better found than in 
temperance and Religon, no Man is fitt to be sent 
on any business that cant keep his head cool and 
clear, go to bed with a cool head then you will rise 
in the the morning fitt for business, if your officer’s 
are not so good as you wish for you are not to 
fight or strike them nor use any blackguard low 
language before your ships Compa. — if any of 
yo'ur Mates are fond of liquor always tell. them in 
your Cabbin of that or any other Missconduct you 
see in them, the ships duty must be done and 
can be done without bullying noisy low language, 
a man who commands any Vessell on a voyage 
to Africa is not to hear every word that is said 
let him keep on the quarter deck, then he may see 
both ends of his ship, make your officers happy 
and agreeable amongst themselves, never make over 
free with any one, good manners is due to all even 
to common Sailors or landsmen — Rise early in the 


76 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


morning, never lay in bed after day light, make 
your apperance on deck, walk round the ship, 
look aloft see what sail is sett, then you may go 
into your Cabbin and read or write untill breakfast 
time if the weather admits — but should you see 
anything amiss on your coming on deck in a 
morning do not swear and make a noise, Call the 
Officer who as the watch and tell him whats 
wrong, if you should have any troublsom hands 
on board mind you keep on good terms with your 
Officers and let them insert in the log book any 
missconduct any of the Ships Compa. are guilty 
of and mind keep your hands to yourself, don’t 
strike man or boy, be sure to command your passion 
be cool in althings fear nothing a Cool man 
never shews any fear, use eveiy man well, if the 
worst man in your ship is sick take as much care 
of him as your brother use no Wine but for your 
sick bfack and white people, take care of all. In 
any part of Africa go were you will the Traders 
will try to find your temper by one means or other, 
therefore always be on your guard let them say 
what they please don’t shew the least anger th<.n 
you may give such ansrs. that will satisfie. them, 
you are not to be imposed on, be steady at the 
begining of your Trade and that will save you 
much trouble before you have done, little presents 
will gain respect when properly given but first 
know somthing of the person before you make a 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


77 


present, the Africans will promise more than ever 
they mean to perform, but dont you follow their 
deceptions — One thing you are never to Omitt that 
is to Keep a clean ship below as well as above 
deck, set one day after dinner eather Saturday 
or Wednesday to clean all below and marke it 
in your Logbook in your passages out and home, 
never neglect it, except the weather prevent your 
doing it when that is the case be sure and take the 
next favourable day, and remark in your LogBook 
why it was omitted on the day you sett apart for that 
business, take care your provisions are not wasted 
be frugal in all things you dont Know the length 
of your Voyage be saveing at the begining and 
then you wont meet distress at the end which 
as and may be the case again, take care your 
Ship’s Company keep themselves clean Observe 
Sunday let all hands shave wash and put on 
clean cloths, and not do any other duty than the 
wind and weather permits on that day. In regard 
to your passage out take care to keep as far west 
as Madeira always mind your Lattidue take care 
you dont run in the night when you come near 
the Cape de Verd* Islands many Ships have been 
lost there by the imprudence of the commanders 
wantonly carrying Sail in the night — When you 
are past the Cape de Verds stretch in until you 
fetch the main keeping your lead going in the 
night time and dont forget Lead Lattitude and Look 


78 The Cruise of the Black Princel' 


out the very best Navigator cannot be depended 
upon that neglects the three Ls it is a very poor 
excuse for a man to tell the underwriters that he 
did not think himself so near the land or in 
running down a lattitude to say the Ship was a 
hundred leagues ahead of him, some men have 
so good an Opinion of them Selves they think they 
know everything but Sailors in general know as 
little as most people and, therefore dont you 
neglect to read this over once when you sail and 
every Sunday morning after — you will find every 
voyage you go to sea you will learn something you 
never knew before and every year you live on 
shore something will be new and strange to you 
so it as been with all men before you. 

“As some part of your cargo is in bales take 
particular care it does not receive any damage in 
your passage out you know how careless sailors 
are even of what belong to themselves one can of 
water spild on a bale of goods will heat and 
damage the whole bale, you have everything in the 
ship under . your care therefore dont blame the 
officers for not keeping a look out, think every 
night what you have to do next day and dont put 
that off untill another day every day brings is 
work when you lay in the open air {i.e. without 
being roofed in) I think it may be as well to 
wash your decks every morning there will be time 
for them to dry before the Slaves come upon deck. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince'. 


79 


Take care their provisions are well dressed — The 
super cargo will settle all questions of prices for 
the sale of slaves whether at Barbadoes or Jamaica 
You will apprehend that although your letter of 
marque enables you to make prizes privateering 
is not to be considered as the principal object of 
your voyage untill you have discharged your slaves 
at some port in the West Indies where you will 
also tranship your other cargo if a favourable 
opportunity offers of sending the same to this port — 
Nevertheless if a favourable opportunity presents 
itself you may in the earlier part of your voyage 
make captures taking care not to weaken your 
crew unwisely. Excercise your men duly in the 
use of great guns and small arms and :iee that at 
all times good order is maintained. Jn the event 
of your mortality Mr. Dormer will succeed to the 
command and next Mr. Trenal but the. advice of 
the super cargo Mr. Merrick is //Iways to be 
listened to with deference — We tru£^ that you may 
have a happy and prosperous voya /e and a good 
deliverance and that you and all of you may 
return in health and safety to your fuinilies. 

“We are Sir your affectionate Friends 

“Merrick & Fuym” 

“ There, gentlemen,” I said, “ you hav£ aow heard 
our orders. Mr. Merrick, you have the v/ishes of the 
owners as to what ports we should visit, and how 


.1 


8o 


The Cruise of the Black PrinceT' 


we shall arrange with any other vessels belonging 
to the firm. We may, I believe, take slaves from 
them, so as to expedite our departure for the West 
Indies, and I trust that as we are so strong we may 
be able to visit the freetraders at Sierra Leone, 
and perchance there we may be able to make some 
passable bargains.” 

Merrick replied to me, “ My father, I know, is 
too cautious to give any directions as to dealing 
with the gentlemen who frequent Sierra Leone, 
and who now are termed pirates ; but as you know 
well, neither he nor Mr. Floyd are averse to turning 
an honest penny, and perhaps among the free- 
traders we may find some honest fellows who have 
only been driven into that business by their loyalty 
to the Stuarts, like our friend Ralph Trevor was 
forced, according to his own account, to the road.” 

“ Well,” said Dormer, “ I confess I am astonished 
at your proposing to have any dealings with the 
pirates. They should all be hung.” 

“ Ah ! ” I answered, “ you think of those of the 
Barbary States,, and the followers of Kidd and 
others in the Spanish main. The African freetraders 
are a different sort — at least, the English portion. 
They have never been known to attack a country- 
man ; on the contrary, they have even assisted 
British ships when attacked by foreigners or in 
distress, and the utmost they have done against us 
is being rather free in the manner they supply 


f 


The Cruise of the Black Princel' 8i 


their wants, forcing an exchange at times of 
articles, certainly valuable, but not easily disposed 
of. Several Jacobite gentlemen are supposed atone 
time to have been on the African coast.” 

“ Well, have it your own way. We had better go 
on deck and see all snug for the night ; for, if I 
mistake not, it will blow harder before it blows less, 
and we must watch this new rigging, as it will 
stretch and give.” 

“Certainly, Mr. Dormer. Call all hands, and 
shorten sail to topsails and courses, and then see 
all the men at their quarters.” 

All was soon made snug, and then we went 
round all the men at their guns, and I was glad to 
see that, owing to our having shipped the twenty 
blacks, I always would have an efficient body of 
sail-trimmers to work the ship under all circum- 
stances, without having to call any men from 
their guns. 

' By the time all had been properly seen to, we 
were able to alter our course to due south, and 
when sails were trimmed it was already night, and 
I was glad, when the watches were set, to be able 
to turn in, knowing that, as far as human foresight 
could say, we had begun our voyage well and 
prosperously. 


82 


The Cruise of the Black Prmcei 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Next morning, by Dormer’s advice, I exercised my 
men at their guns, ind in tacking and veering, and 
we continued this sort of practice every day, and 
also manoeuvred the ship in every way that could 
possibly occur in action. We also saw all our 
boarding nettings properly fitted, and toggled our 
lifts and braces, snaked all our stays and backstays, 
and, in short, did all that experience could devise 
to make the Black Prince perfectly ready to meet 
any foe. We also made arrangements in case of fire, 
and taught our black sail-trimmers how to act in 
case any necessity might arise for their services 
being required to extinguish flames in action. All 
these things took time, and soon after passing the 
Scillys we met a south-west wind that at first we 
were able to beat against, but which soon forced us 
to shorten sail, and after a time we could neither tack 
nor veer, and had to furl our square-sails, and try 
under fore and main stay-sails, and to house our 
jibboom and top gallant-masts, and get the sprit- 
sail yard fore and aft 


The Cruise of the '‘'Black Prince I 


83 


After four days, during which we were unable to 
open the hatches or light a fire, the gale moderated 
and the wind drew round to the north-west, so that 
vve were again able to lie our course, and I intended 
that we should keep well for Finisterre, in order to 
get a departure ; but we had been driven so far to 
the westward of what I thought, that we were 
embayed in the Bay of Biscay, and sighted the 
north coast of Spain some thirty leagues to the 
eastward of that point. I brought the ship to the 
wind on the port tack, to make a leg to the north- 
ward, and had hardly made above four leagues on 
that course when the look-out man reported a sail 
on our lee bow. 

“ Where away ? ** 

“Just under the black cloud, sir. She is not very 
large.” 

I ordered the ship to be kept away, and we soon 
closed on the stranger, which proved to be a large 
chasse-marie. When we were seen to be bearing 
down on her, she als6 kept away, and set more 
sail; but as the sea was running pretty heavily, 
we soon drew up within gun fire, when, hoisting 
the English colours, I ordered a gun to be fired 
as a signal for her to bring to. 

In reply, she hoisted the white flag of France, 
but instead of shortening sail, set her topsails, and 
for a time seemed to be drawing away from us, 
but soon after, her mainyard carrying away in a 


Cruise of the Black Princel* 

squall, we rapidly overhauled her, and, though she 
was well armed, she hauled down her colours 
without firing a shot. 

I ran close to windward of her, and hailed that 
all her men were to leave the deck and go below, 
or else I would fire into her, as I had some fear 
that treachery was intended ; and then we lowered 
one of our boats, and Dormer went on board to 
take possession. He had much difficulty in getting 
alongside the prize, but at last succeeded ; and, 
placing guards over the hatchways, ordered the 
captain on deck with his papers, and found that 
the name of the craft was the Saint Pierre^ bound 
from Bourdeaux to Senegal, with wine, provisions, 
and a mixed cargo. 

I ordered the Frenchmen to be sent on board 
the Black Prince^ and in a short time they were 
ranged on our quarter-deck, and I sent a prize 
crew, under Mr. Trenal, to take charge of the 
Saint Pierre^ and then we both made sail, the 
yard of the chasse-marie having been fished 
immediately Dormer went on board. 

The French skipper, Jean Amarre, told us that 
he had been out five days, and seemed broken- 
hearted at his capture, as he was part owner of 
the vessel, and the cargo mostly belonged to one 
of his brothers. I could not help feeling sorry for 
him ; but, at the same time, I was very pleased to 
think that at so early a period of our voyage we 


The Cruise of the ‘ Black Princel 


85 


had secured so good a prize, for the manifest of 
the cargo showed it to be of considerable value. 
His crew numbered sixteen, all told, and for them 
we cleared a space to live in the main hold, whilst 
Amarre himself, and his mate, Guillaume Boudin, 
we allowed to join our cabin mess. 

Soon after all was settled the wind shifted to 
the eastwaidj and we were able to shape a good 
course for Finisterre, off which point we found our- 
selves early the next morning. I had a long con- 
sultation with George Dormer and Tom Merrick 
as to what we should do with our prize, the proper 
course being to send her to an English port for 
adjudication ; but this would entail our weakening 
our crew, which so early in our cruise I was very 
loth to do, especially as we should have to send 
the Frenchmen in her, and the prize crew would 
have to be strong enough to prevent any attempt 
at recapture succeeding. 

After a time George Dormer said, “ Well, I think 
I see a way out of our difficulties, which, even if 
it is not strictly legal, will satisfy every one.” 

“ What is it ? I should be glad to know what 
you propose.” 

“ Why, this. If we go into Las Palmas in the 
ship, we shall excite all manner of suspicion ; and 
I propose that I should take the Saint Pierre in 
with a number of our men on board, and the 
French crew, and let it appear that she has put in 


86 


The Cruise of the Black Prince', 


for water ; and then I shall manage somehow to 
communicate with Donna Juanita, and get her 
on board, and then clear out at once to rejoin 
you.” 

“ That may be very well, but the Frenchmen 
will be sure to betray you.” 

“ Not so ; for I shall propose afterwards to let 
them go free.” 

“ Well, that is right for you ; but you must re- 
member our crew, for they will not care to forego 
their share of the prize. I would willingly give 
up mine, and I’m sure Merrick would do the same, 
and you could easily arrange with his father and 
Mr. Floyd about theirs.” 

As for the prize-money, that will be soon 
settled ; for I will undertake to pay the whole 
value, and the men shall all have orders on my 
uncle for their shares ; and so shall you and Mr. 
Merrick, and of course I will recoup the owners 
for theirs.” 

“ But, my dear fellow, ’tis a big sum you are 
talking of. The Saint Pierre must be worth 
nearly one thousand pounds, and her cargo, by the 
invoices, must be worth double that.” 

“You must remember that I did not sail with 
Anson for nothing ; and my father was older than 
Sir John, and had a larger share in their business, 
whilst my mother’s fortune was by no means in- 
considerable.” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 87 

“You may be a very rich man, but still three 
thousand pounds is a large sum to pay.” 

“ You say you are in love. Would you grudge 
that to marry Miss Pen more } ” 

“ Certainly not, if I had it.” 

“Well, my dear fellow, I will pay the three 
thousand willingly, and will pay the men that go 
with me, besides.” 

“ All right, then ; I will have no objection, and 
suppose Jean Amarre will not have any either, as 
it is all on his way to Goree.” 

“ Well, if you consent, I will make my own 
terms with him. But now I think you are still 
keeping too far east ; I should make Madeira, if I 
were you.” 

“All right. I will prick the ship off on the 
chart, and then set her course.” 

I soon marked the ship’s position on the chart, 
and then came on deck, where I found Dormer 
talking to Ralph Trevor ; and as soon as he saw 
me he called me to come, for Trevor had some 
important news for me. 

“What is it?” I asked. “Has he, during the 
time he has been on, the road, learnt how to carry 
off young ladies as well as to rifle . itihQ. mails of 
wayfarers ? ” 

“ Not so, sir. I would fain have you know that, 
though on the road, I was not there by choice, but 
by necessity ; but that is not the matter in hand. 


88 


The Cruise of the Black Prince' 


I would have you know that, as an adherent of our 
rightful sovereign, my father, who was a country 
squire, had to live in France, and that at an early 
age I was intrusted with the carrying of messages 
between France and England, and on my father’s 
death I took to the sea, and for some time I com- 
manded a craft like this you have captured, and 
have had many a narrow escape of capture from 
the cruisers of the Hanoverians, who now rule 
England. After the retreat from Derby I was 
instrumental in getting many of the followers of 
the young Chevalier away to France, and had much 
communication with the agents of the worthy knight 
Sir John Dormer. About four years ago I lost my 
craft on the Kentish coast, and then I was employed 
in keeping up communications with different pans 
of the kingdom for the London committee appointed 
by the court at St. Germains, and in so doing 1 
availed myself of the services of some of the gentle- 
men of the road, and when my work for the Jacobitei 
ceased, I, not knowing what to do, threw in my lot 
with them ; but ’tis a hard and dangerous life, and I 
was delighted to have an opportunity of leaving it.” 

“ I am glad,” I replied, “ you have taken again to 
an honestiiiJfe ; but I do not see how the matter 
affects us.” 

“ No, sir ; but, for the matter of honesty, I see 
not much difference between the road and 
privateering.” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


89 


“ Out, rogue ! I only capture the property of the 
enemies of his most sacred Majesty George II. 
God bless him.’’ 

“ Ay, sir ; and I levied tribute on the enemies of 
the king over the water.” 

“You bandy words well,” said George Dormer ; 
“but tell Captain Hawkins what you e’en now said 
to me.” 

“ Why, sir, it is this that I had to say : I have a 
good knowledge of French, and can patter with the 
Crapauds in their own tongue, and many of my 
crew, when I commanded the Prince Charlie^ were 
Frenchmen ; and I have been speaking to some of 
the fellows you have confined in the hold, and it so 
chances that some of them are from the Channel 
Islands, and claim to be English, though not a word 
of our language can they speak, and they now 
request that you would be pleased to make them 
^part of your crew, and then I thought, perchance, if 
you would listen to them, that I and this half-dazen 
men might prove of use on board the prize, as, 
saving your presence, your square-rigged seamen 
know little of the management of these small 
craft, and she would prove of use to you in many 
ways.” 

“ ’Tis well what you say ; but what hold can I 
have over you and them that you might not make 
off with the Saint Pierre ? ” 

“ Egad, sir, that I would not. But we should 


90 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


only be seven, and I reckon that your mate and the 
twelve men he has now on board might surely 
prove a match for us if we wished to be so unloyal.” 

“ Enough. I will even consider what you say ; 
but mind, not one word to the prisoners of what 
you have said.” 

Ralph Trevor pulled his forelock in true seaman 
style, and left the poop, and when he had gone, I 
turned to Dormer to ask him what he thought of 
what he had told us, and called Tom Merrick into 
our counsels. 

When Merrick heard it, he said that now we 
could manage to carry out George Dormer’s plan 
of carrying off his lady-love without giving up the 
prize, and that there was no law to prevent us 
having a prize with us as long as we chose, and no 
doubt the Saint Pierre would be most useful to us 
as a tender on the coast of Africa. 

“You see now that Dormer can, with this scape- 
grace Trevor and the Channel Islanders, personate 
the French crew ; and if we chase the chasse-mar^e 
into the roads of Las Palmas, and only apparently 
give up because we come close to the batteries of 
the town, there will be no suspicion as to her 
arrival there, and we might also get information of 
what ships belonging to the French had passed 
lately for Goree, and might very likely pick up a 
good prize about the islar ds.” 

I quite agreed with this, and said the only 


The Cruise of the Black P tin cel 


9J 


question would be how far we could put faith in 
Trevor. 

Dormer said, “ Faith ! the fellow seems a reckless 
one, but there is that in his manner which bids me 
trust him, and whilst we are in company ’twill be 
hard for him to play us any tricks, and as for Las 
Palmas, we can put another of your lads aboard, 
and make him know that any double dealing would 
be the cause of his death.” 

I said that to tell Trevor now about our plans 
for the carrying off Donna Juanita would be quite 
unnecessary, but that to put him and the Jersey 
men on board the prize would be a very good plan, 
and that certainly if he had commanded a chasse- 
marie, he would be most useful, for though Trenal 
was a good blue-water seaman, he had never had 
any experience in small craft 

Both my friends agreed with me in this, and I 
ordered all the prisoners to be brought on deck, 
and sent for Trevor to pick out the men he said 
hailed from Jersey. 

When Jean Amarre saw these being separated 
from the rest, he divined what we were about, and 
burst into a torrent of abuse, calling them ^'Cochins, 
sacri canaille, coquins,'' and every opprobrious epithet 
that could be found in the vocabulary of an old 
loup de 7ner, in which he was joined by his mate 
and the real Frenchmen among his crew. I paid 
little attention to his voice, as I thought it would 


92 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


be best to let him run himself down ; but instead 
of decreasing, his passion seemed to feed upon 
words, and he at last so forgot himself as to come 
from the poop, where he had been left, on to the 
quarter-deck, where the men were ranged, and 
making at me, would doubtless have struck me, if 
Black Jack, who was standing hard by, had not 
divined his intention, and, seizing him by the scruff 
of his neck and his waistband, given him a twist 
and landed him on his back on the deck. 

I could hardly help laughing at him as he lay 
there, for he was a most ludicrous figure. He was 
crying with passion, and his jacket and petticoat 
trousers split and torn from Black Jack’s vigorous 
handling ; and he rolled from side to side, 
endeavouring to/egain his feet. His mate Boudin 
and one or two of his crew came to his rescue, and 
he was! put on his feet, when he continued storming 
away, and among the words which flowed like a 
torrent from his lips I could at times distinguish. 
Laches, Bites des Anglais and Grande nation. 

As this continued too long, I had to tell Trevor 
to inform him, that unless he restrained himself, I 
should be under the disagreeable necessity of 
confining him and Boudin apart, and that he 
would only have to thank himself for my doing it.. 
On hearing this, he quieted down, and went off to 
repair the damage to his clothing. His crew did 
not, after a bit, seem to be so much enraged as he 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


93 


did ; but, on the contrary, when they found that 
those of their companions who hailed from the 
Channel Islands were to be liberated and allowed 
to join us, they nearly all claimed to be Channel 
Islanders ; but Ralph Trevor knew enough of the 
patois and dialects of France to make sure that 
those he chose were really what they claimed 
to be. 

When the selection was finished, one of the men 
we had chosen, called Jacques Legrand, said that 
he had some important news for us, and this was 
that he believed that Amarre had been intrusted 
with some important papers for the French 
Governor at Goree, and that he thought they were 
hidden in the rudder casing of the Saint Pierre. 

I again sent for Amarre, and asked him if there 
were any truth in the story, but he stoutly denied 
it, and said that he was not a man to be trusted 
with such papers, and called upon all the saints in 
heaven to prove what he said was true. Ralph 
Trevor said there was no use in questioning him, 
and that if I would give him permission, as he 
knew where similar documents were usually con- 
cealed, having had much experience in that way 
himself, he would rummage about until he found 
them. 

To this I readily acceded, and we soon put him 
and the men he had picked out of the French crew 
on board the Saint Pierre, and both vessels went 


94 Cruise of the Black Prince!* 

on merrily in company, as we found that the prize 
could sail quite as well as the Black Prince, and 
that it was only owing to the fortunate accident of 
her mainyard carrying, that we captured her as we 
did, and not until after a long and tedious chase. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


95 


CHAPTER IX. 

We now ran into warm fine weather, and could 
constantly speak the prize, and ask if Trevor 
had been able to find anything of the papers which 
were supposed to be concealed on board. For 
the first three days the answer always was that he 
had been unsuccessful, but on the fourth morniiig 
the Saint Pierre ran close up on our weather 
quarter, and we could see Trevor waving a large 
packet of papers, and making signs that we should 
send for them, and, as far as we could make out his 
hail, his find was a most important one. 

We soon hove to, and sent a boat, and we saw, 
not only Trevor get into the boat, but a heavy 
chest also passed down into her. When she came 
alongside, he came on deck and said he had not 
only found the papers, but also a chest of treasure, 
and that he had found them in one of the casks 
which were supposed to be full of wine. The 
chest was hoisted in at once, and was found to 
contain five thousand louis, which was a most 
welcome addition to our prize’s value ; but the 
papers were still more important, as they were 


96 The Cniise of the ''Black Prince: 


despatches to the Governor of Senegal, telling him 
that a squadron was being fitted out at Brest, 
which would rendezvous at Goree, and then 
proceed down the African coast, in the hopes of 
destroying all the British settlements and factories, 
and capturing the English ships trading there ; in 
short, the purport was, that this squadron was 
intended to entirely destroy British trade on the 
West Coast of Africa, and that everything was to 
be in readiness at Goree for supplying this 
squadron with water and provisions, and the 
governor was also to find if there were any pirates 
to be met with at Sierra Leone or elsewhere, who 
would accept letters of marque to act against the 
English. ‘ii 

After reading these despatches, George Dormer 
said they were sufficiently important for us to be 
bound to make them known at the nearest 
British port ; and he proposed, as we were now 
abreast of Cape St. Vincent, that we should at 
once haul our wind and make the best of our way 
to Gibraltar. 

“That will make a long hole in our time,” 
remarked Merrick, “and I do not see how your 
plan can be carried out about using the Saint 
Pierre at the Grand Canary, as she will have to be 
put into the prize court at Gibraltar, and there are 
sure to be delays there.” 

“Never mind, most grave and reverend signior. 


The Cruu e of the Black Prhicel 


97 


I think we can get our prize condemned and sold 
in the same day, if we expend some money to 
grease the ways, and can find a purchaser. And 
the last part is certain, for I will buy her myself. 
If there is an admiral there, we can get a letter 
of marque for her, and I will equip and sail her, 
and you can make that good fellow Trenal first 
mate in my place.” 

“You certainly are a magnificent lover,” I said, 
“ and difficulties only arise for you to surmount 
them ; but bear in mind that though your purse 
may be a long one, it is not bottomless, and you 
may come to an end of your resources.” 

“ Never mind, most prudent sir. I suppose that 
this freak of mine will not cost me more than two 
thousand guineas, and that and more you know I 
have said I will spend.” 

“ All right ; you can give the order to trim sails 
and shape our course for Gibraltar. How is the 
wind now ? We can make a good course.” 

No sooner were the orders given than they were 
obeyed, and we hauled up to the wind and were 
able to lay up well to windward of Tarifa, and we 
had every prospect of reaching Gibraltar in eight 
and forty hours. Next morning we sighted the 
coast of Spain near Cadiz, and finding ourselves 
well to the northward, I ordered the ship to be 
kept away, and we were soon running, with the 
wind rather abaft the beam, at the rate of over ten 

H 


98 The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


knots an hour ; but just as we opened the land 
past Cape Trafalgar, we made out a large ship 
standing towards us. I asked George Dormer his 
opinion of her, and he said he thought she looked 
like a heavy frigate, and perhaps might be a 
Spaniard making her way to Cadiz. As we were 
not at war with Spain, though we knew our rela- 
tions with that country were not friendly, I saw no 
use in avoiding the stranger, and we rapidly neared 
each other. Suddenly, a puff of smoke burst from 
the other vessel’s bow, and a shot ricochetted across 
our forefoot. On this I ordered our colours, which 
we had not yet shown, to be hoisted, and called the 
men to their quarters. Fortunately, we had cleared 
for action previously, for the strange vessel now 
hoisted French colours, and fired a whole broadside 
at us, which fortunately fell short. 

“ Hallo ! ” said Merrick, “ we’ve caught a tartar, 
Bob ! ” 

“ Never you mind, Tom,” said I ; "we are a long 
way off a French prison yet. Dormer, you take 
charge of the guns, and see if you can wing that 
fellow, while I work the sails with the black fellows. 
— Hard up with the helm, weather after braces, 
round in.” 

My orders were obeyed as soon as given, and we 
were soon running before the wind with every stitch 
of canvas set, and the Frenchman booming along 
behind us. 


The Cruise of the Black Priucel 


99 


Dormer got two guns into the stern ports, and 
kept on firing at our enemy, who from time to time 
yawed and fired a bow-chaser at us. I soon saw 
that the Saiut Pierre had no chance dead before the 
wind like this, and was much afraid that the frigate, 
even if he could not catch us, might yet recapture 
her, and I watched most anxiously to see what 
Trenal would do. As I was looking at her, I saw 
her suddenly lower all her sails by the run, and 
said to Merrick^ who was standing by me — 

“I should have given credit to Trenal for not 
giving in so quickly. Perhaps he thinks the frigate 
will send a boat to take possession of him, and that 
will delay her, and give us a chance of escape.” 

“ Don’t be afraid, Bob. Trenal might think of 
that ; but Trevor has brains, and you may be sure 
he is going to play the Crapauds some trick. Now 
watch, you see the frigate is shortening sail.” 

I looked, and saw the frigate’s upper sails taken 
in, her courses hauled up, and that she hauled to 
the wind and hove to, and was clumsy enough to 
do this to leeward of the Saint Pierre, This gave 
Trenal or Trevor, whoever was the author, an 
opportunity for the trick they had wanted to try ; 
for they had got the chasse-mar^e' s bow to the east- 
ward, and as soon as the frigate had lowered a 
boat, they hoisted all their sails, and hauling close 
to the wind, shot away on a course which the frigate 
could not lie. As soon as the Frenchman under- 


lOO 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


stood the ruse, he fired a broadside at the chasse- 
mar^e ; but it was badly aimed, and I was delighted 
to see the Samt Pierre get away unscathed. By this 
time we were some distance from the frigate, and 
although he had an advantage from being to wind- 
ward of us, I had such complete confidence in the 
sailing qualities of the Black Prince, and especially 
on a wind, that I determined on again shaping my 
course for Gibraltar, and gave orders for the sails 
to be trimmed, and the port tacks to be brought 
aboard. 

By the time the Frenchman had hoisted up his 
boat again, and filled and made sail, he was distant 
about half a league on the weather quarter, but as 
he was going freer than we were, he was rapidly 
closing on us, though drawing more and more 
astern. 

I went round the ship, and saw every sail properly 
set and drawing, and as the breeze was freshening, 
saw lifts and trusses taut, and ordered preventer 
backstays to be got up, and extra parrells to the 
topsail-yards. I soon saw that, though we might 
ultimately make good our escape, we should not be 
able to shake off our pursuer without again coming 
under fire, and ordered the stern guns to be again 
manned, and sent for Black Jack and his friend 
Blopdred Bill, as the two best shots among our 
crew, to be captains of them. 

Amarre and Boudin were on the poop, and had 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


lor 


been watching the whole course of events with 
intense interest. I pointed out to them how they 
would be exposed to the fire of their countrymen, 
and urged them to go down below to where the 
other prisoners were, where they would be in safety. 
This they refused to do ; so telling them that I 
would not be responsible for anything that occurred 
to them, I allowed them to remain on deck. 

In about half an hour the enemy had drawn to 
within gunshot of us ; but, at the same time, I was 
glad to see that he was almost astern of us, and 
unless he wanted to fall to leeward, would be 
obliged to hold as close to the wind as we did, I 
went to the Conin, and putting Sam Moxon and 
John Beer at the wheel, I was determined that not 
an inch should be lost by careless steering, while 
I told Dormer to take charge of the guns, and open 
fire as soon as he thought he could do so with effect 
I was delighted to see from my position that the 
Saint Pierre was well away to windward, and that 
whatever happened to us, she was safe from 
recapture. 

Moxon, at the weather helm, steered to a nicety, 
and answered my every word and motion as I 
either eased the ship or brought her up, so as 
not to lose a foot of way by either lifting the sails 
or letting her ramp off. “Dyce and no higher,” 

I was just saying, when I was wetted through by 
the splash of a cannon-ball, which plunged into the 


102 


The Cruise of the Black PrincC. 


sea a few feet to windward of the ship, and at the 
same moment I heard George Dormer saying, 
“ Now, Jack, let them have it. Aim at the bowsprit 
cap, and then our gun. Capital ! that’s into her 
bows, if it did not wound a spar. Now, Cundy, 
try your hand. Be smart and load again. Jack.” 
If on our side the fire was kept up smartly, the 
enemy was not far behind us in pelting at us, and 
we were hulled several times, and some shot passed 
through our sails. Looking round from time to 
time, I could see that we were not shaking off our 
pursuer, and said that we had better have some bar 
and chainshot ready in case any of our spars or 
sails were carried away, and the Frenchman came 
dose enough to us to make use of them. 

Just as I said this I heard a cheer from the men 
round the guns, and Dormer came running to me. 
“All right ; we’ve shot away her Sprit-sail yard, and 
her jibboom’s gone, and there her foretop-mast is 
following it.” 

Jumping off the nettings, I ran aft, and saw that 
the frigate had lost both jibboom and foretop-mast, 
and had come up head to wind. As I arrived aft 
she let fly her whole broadside at us, and one of 
the shots struck and wounded the mizzentop-mast. 
I sprang and let go the topsail haulyards, and gave 
orders to let fly topgallant sheets and haulyards ; 
but Amarre, who was watching all that happened, 
snatched up an axe that was lying on the poop 


The Cruise of the '"Black Princel* 103 

and, before he could be prevented, cut the lanyards 
of the weather topmast backstay. 

He was promptly seized by some of the men 
standing by, but the mischief had been done, and 
the mizzentop-mast went over the side, snapping 
short off about half-way up, where the wound was. 
Fortunately for us it fell nearly clear, and only 
damaged the quarter-deck nettings, and carried 
away the boat on that side, and by giving a turn 
of lee helm smartly we were able to keep the ship 
from falling off, and in a few minutes we had cut 
all the rigging that confined the wreck, and began 
rapidly to draw away from our adversary, who 
fired a few more broadsides at us, but without 
doing any further damage. 

Amarre would have been thrown overboard by 
the men who had seized him, but I interfered and 
had him placed in the bilboes, there to have leisure 
to reflect on the consequences of his treacherous 
action, whilst I looked round to see what damage 
had been done by the enemy’s fire. I found that 
two men had been wounded by splinters, but that 
McAllister reported that their injuries were only 
slight, and that, though we had been struck several 
times, no serious damage had been done to hull, 
spars, or rigging, except the loss of the mizzen- 
topmast and boat. 

I ordered the main brace to be spliced, and the 
men gave three hearty cheers in honour of our 


t 04 The Cruise of the Black Prince!' 

escape from the Frenchman, and then we turned 
to to rig a jury topmast. Our late pursuer, we could 
see, was^ hampered with the wreck of her foretop- 
mast and jibboom, and, though the men were 
clustering about her bows as thick as bees, they 
did not seem to make much progress in their work. 
The Saint Pierre^ as soon as she saw we had 
shaken off the frigate, ran down to us, and said 
they had had three men wounded by musketry- 
fire when they were hoisting their sails again, but 
that none were seriously hurt, and could easily 
wait for the doctor’s attention until our arrival at 
Gibraltar. 

We were now well past Cape Trafalgar, and had 
a leading wind for Tarifa, for which we now steered, 
and about sunset were abreast of that point, and 
could see the rock of Gibraltar lying like a grim 
lion guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean, 
and hauled up to the wind. As we opened Algeciras 
we could see the lights of a number of shipping 
lying off that place, and soon after the lights of a 
squadron lying under the rock. We had to make 
two or three tacks to fetch up to the anchorage, 
and about midnight anchored close outside the line 
of ships, and immediately were boarded by a boat 
from the ship having the guard. 

As the lieutenant hailed us to know who and 
what we were, Dormer said he knew the voice, and 
that it was one of his old messmates, Hoste, 


The Cruise of the **Black PrinceJ 


105 


and called to him by name, saying that we were 
the Black Prince, privateer of Liverpool, with her 
prize, the Sdint Pierre, in company, and that we 
had found despatches on board her. 

Hoste was on deck immediately, and was much 
astonished at meeting Dormer, who at once intro- 
duced him to me. From him we learnt of the 
action between Byng and the French off the Balearic 
Isles, and said that the admiral had left for England 
with part of his fleet, and that the remainder were 
here now watching a French squadron, which was 
lying in the Spanish part of the bay off Algeciras. 
I told Lieutenant Hoste of the despatches we had 
found on board the Saint Pierre, and he said that 
he would at once take me on board the flagship, to 
report to Admiral Forsyth, who was in command. 

I left Dormer to see the sails furled and all made 
snug, and went on board the Majestic, a threc- 
dccker of a hundred guns, on board which the 
admiral’s flag was flying ; and immediately we got 
on board, the officer of the watch sent for the flag- 
lieutenant and flag-captain, who decided that the 
admiral ought to be woke and told at once of 
the news we brought. In about ten minutes I 
was ushered into the admiral’s cabin, where I 
found him wrapped up in a boat-cloak, with his 
nightcap on, and not in the best of humours at 
being disturbed. 

“Well, sir,” he said, “I suppose you think you 


io6 The Cruise of the ** Black Prince^ 


have some news. Now, tell me at once, what is 
it?" 

I answered, “ I left Liverpool — ^ ” 

“Of course; I know that. But what have you 
done, sir ? ” 

“ We captured in the bay a chasse-marie^ bound 
from Bourdeaux to Goree, and on board her we 
found these despatches concealed ; ” and I handed 
them to him. 

He snatched them out of my hand, and, opening 
them, said, after he had glanced at them, that he 

couldn’t read the d d foreign lingo. “ Do you 

know what they mean ? " 

I replied that they related to the despatch of 
a French squadron, which was to rendezvous, and 
then to proceed to attack the English settlements 
on the West Coast. 

“Well, why do you come here with them. Why 
didn’t you go down to the coast to warn our ports 
and ships ? " 

“I thought it my duty, sir, to come here, and 
I wanted to get my prize condemned." 

“Your prize ? Where is your letter of marque ? ” 

“ On board my ship, sir.” 

“What d’ye mean by coming on board here 
without it. Go back at once and bring it with 
you." 

“ Very well, sir ; but I was chased by a French , 
frigate on my way here, and we left her disabled 


TJu Cruise of the Black Prince^. 


107 


by the loss of her fore-topmast and jibboom, a little 
to the -south of Cape Trafalgar.” 

“ D’ye hear, go and bring your own papers. The 
officer of the guard should have seen you brought 
them. Now go, and be back qyickly.” 

I made a bow and left the cabin, and, going 
on deck, asked for a boat to take me to my ship. 
The officer of the watch said I should go back in 
the guard-boat, which would be alongside in a 
minute, and asked what the admiral had said. 

I told him, and he said there was no need to be 
in a very great hurry, as, when the admiral was 
in the temper he then showed, there was a great 
chance of his keeping me waiting for hours before 
he would see me again. After about a quarter 
of an hour, the guard-boat took me on board the 
Black Prince again, where I was eagerly assailed 
by Dormer and Merrick as to how I had been 
received by the admiral. 

George Dormer laughed when I told him, and 
said that I should have to wait for some time 
before I should get another interview with him, 
but that then I would find him as civil as he had 
now appeared bearish. “I expect you will have 
to wait till eight o’clock, and then you will be asked 
to breakfast with him. He can be most kind and 
courteous, and, if you permit, I will come on board 
the flagship about half-past seven. N ow go dress 
yourself in your best, and go back with your papers. 


io8 The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


If he should think of asking for you again, and you 
are not there, he will continue his present manner, 
and put all sorts of difficulties in your way.” 

I soon dressed, and, putting all my papers in a 
bag, ordered a boat to be manned, and returned 
to the flagship. 


r.7 

'ij 

O.V: 




The Cruise of the Black PrinCei 


109 


CHAPTER X. 

On regaining her deck, I found the flag-captain 
walking up and down with the officer of the watch, 
and he immediately began asking me about the 
French frigate which had chased us, and where 
I had left her. 

As soon as I had described her, he said that 
she must be the Cerf^ and that she had the 
reputation of being a very fast sailer, and we were 
fortunate to have got off so easily as we did. “ Two 
of our frigates will start at daylight to see if they 
can pick her up, and with this wind she will not 
be able to make Cadiz, so they may have a chance, 
unless the mounseers are better sailors than I take 
them to be. But now you must be tired, and the 
admiral will not see you before the morning, so, if 
you choose to lie down in my cabin on the lockers, 
you will find a cloak to wrap yourself up in, and 
I will send you notice when you are wanted.” 

I thanked him, and at once availed myself of 
his kind offer, and in a few minutes was sound 
asleep. I do not think I had been asleep for 


no The Cruise of the Black Prince.*^ 

more than a couple of hours, when I was awoke 
by a noise of people moving about on the poop 
over my head, and, jumping up, arranged my dress 
and went on deck. 

It was now daylight, and the two frigates which 
had been ordered to go in search of the Cerf were 
already standing out of the bay with every stitch 
of canvas set, and we could see signs of movement 
among the Frenchmen off Algeciras. Two frigates 
and a line-of-battle ship were making sail and were 
soon under way, and standing out as with an 
intention of cutting off the Racehorse and Tweedy 
which were the two English frigates. This was 
reported to the admiral, and he sent up orders for 
the fleet to unmoor and prepare to weigh, but not 
to loose sails unless the whole French squadron 
wfcre seen to be getting under way. 

It was a lovely morning, and we could see the 
two English frigates rapidly approaching the 
French ones, the French liner being a little in rear 
of her consorts. The flag-captain, who was stand- 
ing near me on the poop, said, “ This will never do 
The liner will be on top of them the moment they 
engage ; ” and went down to the admiral, and, 
returning on deck, gave orders for the Melampiis 
74, to be signalled to weigh and proceed to the sup- 
port of the Racehorse and Tweed. And then, turn- 
ing to me, said, “ I hope you will see a pretty action 
to-day. We want to tempt those fellows out of 


The Cruise of the *'B/ack Prince'. 


ft 


1 1 1 


Algeciras, and give them a drubbing to make up 
for Byng’s action.” 

I said, “ Why, you beat the French then.” 

“ Beat them I yes, after a manner. But weVe lost 
Port Mahon, and it was all because we did not go 
on hammering them. Byng was a brave man and 
a good seaman, but he could not make up his mind 
to run the risk of a defeat. There, that’s pretty ! 
There are two more French liners weighing.” 

A rnessage now came up from the admiral for 
the outer division to weigh, and in half an hour they 
were standing across after the Melampus and 
frigates, who by this time were smartly engaged 
with the enemy. The Frenchmen did not wait for 
these fresh ships to come up, but they all weighed, 
evidently hoping to divide the English ships under 
way from those still at anchor. When, this was 
reported to the admiral, he came on deck, and as 
he stepped on the quarter-deck w^s most ceremo- 
niously saluted by all, both men and officers. He 
came on the poop, looking quite joyous, and, seeing 
me, said, “ Good morning, sir. You will breakfast 
with me ; ” and his manner was now most courteous. 
I of course thanked him, and accepted, but said I 
hoped that he would soon have other work on hand. 

Yes. I want to get Monsieur Laporte well out 
from his anchorage; but we can have breakfast 
first, and thrash him afterwards.” 

He watched the French fleet carefully, and 


I 12 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince: 


signalled to the division he had detached to avoid 
action at first, and stand well out into the straits. 
After a bit, however, the leading French ships 
began to close on our vessels, and the flag-captain 
said, “They are an overmatch, sir. Won’t you 
signal for the ships to weigh?” 

The admiral for some time refused, but at last, 
seeing that the five English liners and two frigates 
were going to receive the attack of twelve French- 
men, gave the order to weigh, and hoisted the signal 
for close action. “Now, sir, we will breakfast,” he 
said, and led the way into his cabin, where breakfast 
was laid, and where he acted the host to perfection, 
and was seemingly quite forgetful of the impending 
conflict 

We had, however, hardly commenced when the 
flag-captain came down and reported that the 
Frenchmen were returning to their anchorage ; on 
which the admiral said, “ Pardon me, gentlemen. I 
must go on deck ; but pray consider yourselves at 
home.” 

I wished much to go on deck, and so did the 
other guests of the admiral, and we soon followed 
him. The two fleets were nearly equally matched 
in numbers, the French, if anything, having the 
superiority ; but now they saw the English fleet 
standing out, they evidently intended to refuse a 
general action and return to their anchorage in 
neutral waters. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 




I13 


Admiral Forsyth was endeavouring to prevent 
this. “ Ah ! ” he said, “ I was sure, Smythe ” — to his 
fiag-captain — “ we weighed too soon. They’ll escape 
us.” 

We managed to come into gunshot, however, 
before the Frenchmen could really avoid us, and, 
running down their line, we engaged warmly, and 
succeeded in separating the three liners that had 
preceded the rest from the main body, and these, 
not being supported by their friends, we handled 
severely. One of them, whose captain must have 
been a good seaman and a plucky fellow, succeed- 
ing in passing through our ships and regaining the 
anchorage. But the other two and the frigates, 
being surrounded by our ships, were soon disabled, 
but still fought bravely on. 

“ Well, Smythe, we must board. Run alongside 
that nearest fellow.” 

And in a few minutes we were grinding alongside, 
and our boarders swarming on board. The English 
flag was soon waving over the lilies of France. In 
the mean time the other French liner had caught 
fire and was dismasted, and hauled her colours 
down, and the two frigates, seeing that escape was 
impossible, followed her example. 

Admiral Forsyth was among the first to spring 
on board the Redoubtable, which was the ship we 
boarded ; and I, seizing a pike, followed close 
behind him. In the hand-to-hand struggle which 


1 14 The Cruise of the Black Prince* ‘ 


followed, his sword broke, and a big French seaman 
was going to cut him down, when I was fortunately 
able to thrust my pike full in his face. As I did 
this I felt a stinging sensation in my left shoulder, 
but, not regarding it, let go the pike, and, drawing 
my sword, stood over the admiral, who had slipped 
and fallen, and kept off the attacks of several 
Frenchmen ; but in a moment they were driven 
back, and I was able to help the admiral to his 
feet. 

We soon got back on board the flagship, and the 
admiral, turning himself to me, said, “I have to 
thank you, sir, for saving my life ; but you are 
wounded 1” and at the same moment I fainted 
away. 

When I regained consciousness I found myself 
in a cot, under the poop of the flagship, and a man 
sitting by my side, who, when he saw me open my 
eyes, went to call the surgeon. When the surgeon 
came, he told me I had received a bullet-wound ii? 
the shoulder, and had fainted from loss of blood ; 
but that he had already extracted the bullet, and 
that I need apprehend no permanent evil con- 
sequences. Whilst he was speaking, the admiral 
himself came to see me, and told me the results of 
the action, but said he was very sorry he had 
weighed so soon as he did, as he had hoped to 
bring on a general action, in which case he had 
counted on capturing or destroying at least ten of 


The Cruise of the Black Princel^ 115 

the enemy ; whereas now he had to be content with 
the two frigates and one liner captured, and the 
one which had caught fire destroyed. 

“I have to thank you, young man, for having 
saved my life, and you may rely on me as a friend. 
I have sent on board your ship to make a new 
mizzen-topmast and repair the other damages, and 
you can be supplied with a boat to replace the one 
you lost from the naval stores here, for which you 
can give a bill on your owners in payment.” 

“ Thank you very much, sir,” I replied ; “ but I 
want to get on on my voyage, and I want to get 
my prize condemned.” 

" Fair and softly, lad. I have told my secretary to 
prepare all the papers, and Mr. Dormer is with him 
now. All you will have to do is to sign them when 
ready, and then I will go on shore and see the 
governor ; but now what you have to do is to keep 
quiet for a bit, for you have lost a good deal of 
blood. So now good-bye.” 

The surgeon came in as the admiral left, and, 
after looking to the dressing of my wound, made 
me take some soup, and then gave me some 
draught, the effect of which was to make me go to 
steep at once. 

When .1 next woke it was night, but a dim light 
was burning, and by it I could see that some one 
was sitting in a chair close by my cot, and by his 
regular and measured breathing I could tell that 


1 16 The Cruise of the Black Princel' 


whoever it was was sound asleep. 1 felt very stiff 
about my shoulder, and was also very thirsty, so I 
called out two or three times to try and wake the 
slumberer, that he might give me something to drink. 

At last he awoke, and I heard Tom Merrick’s 
voice saying, “Thank God, Bob, I can hear you 
again; for, faith! when I saw you yesterday, covered 
with blood and lying senseless, I was in fear that 
you were done for. Here is some lemonade ; take 
a drink, and then just go to sleep again. 

He gave me the lemonade, which was most 
grateful to my parched throat, and then I said, 
“ What is the news.” 

“ Why, not much. The ship will be refitted in a 
couple of days ; but you, I am afraid, will not be 
ready so soon.” 

“ Nonsense, man. I don’t feel any pain, and the 
surgeon said I should soon be all right.” 

“Yes, he did; but I know you looked like a 
corpse yesterday. Any way, McAllister is in the 
next cabin, and I will call him to have a look at 
you.” 

McAllister, when he came in, felt my pulse, and 
said there was less fever than he expected, and 
that with care I might be about in a day or two, 
but that probably I would have to keep my arm in 
a sling for a fortnight or so. 

“There now, Tom,” I said, “there’s nothing 
serious. W'hat is the time ? ” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


117 


“ It is just one bell in the morning watch.” 

“ Half-past four ! How I must have slept ! ” 

“ Yes ; and you will just go to sleep again now, 
or I’ll have to give you some more of your medicine 
to make you do so.” 

“ No, man ; no medicine for me ; but do you know 
I feel hungry.’* 

At this both Merrick and McAllister burst out 
laughing, and said that I would do, and asked what 
I wanted. 

I said I did not much care, but thought a beef- 
steak would not be a bad thing. 

“ Weel, weel,” said McAllister, “ I dinna ken that 
a collop of beef wouldna be a good thing ; but ye 
are na sair wounded, and it behoves ye mainly to 
take gude nourishment. I will e’en see that body 
they ca’ the admiral’s steward, and will speir gin he 
can gie ye something.” 

Merrick, as McAllister went out, said, “ I suppose, 
as you saved the admiral’s life, he will not mind it, 
but it’s a curious time to be getting beefsteaks.” 

“Never mind ; I’m hungry, and if they can’t cook 
now, I could manage a piece of cold salt beef.” 

“ Well, you are getting on ; but let McAllister 
forage for you. Do you know, those two in- 
separables, Black Jack and Bloodred Bill, when 
the ne^s first came on board that you were hurt 
and, as the rumour was, killed, came aft, and I 
thought they both would have burst into tears. 


1 18 The Cruise of the Black Princel^ 


They have insisted on coming on board here, and 
are now lying down near the entry port, and asked 
to be allowed to see you as soon as you were able 
to speak to them.” 

“Well, send for them ; they are good fellows.” 

The two seamen came into the cabin on being 
sent for, and Cundy, as usual acting as spokesman, 
said, “ Your honour, I and my mate here wishes to 
ask how your honour does — that’s so, Bo ? ” 

“Ay,” said Jago. 

“ Oh, I’m getting on first-rate. Thanks for coming 
to see me.” 

“Well, your honour, beg pardon if we make bold, 
but, as it seems to us, you have not been fair to us.” 

“ Why, how so ? ” 

“Please, your honour, you’ve been fighting the 
mounseers, and we weren’t with you. We shipped to 
be under you, and, blow high, blow low, in boarding 
or in broadside work, we should be with you. If 
so be you’d lost the number of your mess, how 
should we have got a cap’n for the ship } ” 

“Why, my good fellows, I can’t help being 
wounded, and shall soon be about.” 

“ No, your honour, my mate and I can’t figure 
it out nohow — the skipper having a fight and not 
having his crew with him. We wants you to 
promise that next time you will have us with you — 
that’s so. Bo ? ” 

“ Ay,” said Jack, as usual. 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


“ All right, my good fellows. I hope I’ll be able 
to show you fighting enough before we’ve done.” 

Now,” said Merrick, “ you both must go and 
leave the captain quiet ; and here comes the beef- 
steak. How now, McAllister ; what have you 
there?” 

“ I’ve just got a gude dish of collops, and the 
admiral he speired how the captain was progress- 
ing, and ask if he might drink wine. IVe a bottle 
of Burgundy, whilk will mak’ bluid, and gin the 
captain can drink some it will na do him ony ill.” 

The collops, as McAllister called them, and the 
Burgundy were most acceptable, and as I ate and 
drank, each mouthful seemed to give me new 
strength and life, and when I had finished I went 
to sleep again* 


120 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


CHAPTER XI. 

At eight o’clock I was woke again by the firing of 
a gun, and found that Merrick had been replaced 
by George Dormer, and that my boy Toby was 
also in the cabin, with a change of clothes and 
things for shaving and dressing me. 

“ Why, what’s the matter ? ” I said. “ What are 
they firing for ? ” 

“Oh, it’s only an unfortunate fellow to be tried 
by court-martial for hazarding his ship,” said 
George. 

“ What d’ye mean, ‘ hazarding his ship ? * ” 

“‘Whosoever shall negligently suffer his ship to 
be split, stranded, or hazarded,’ go the words ; but 
there is a lieutenant to be tried for a fire-ship which 
he commanded having been on shore, and, though he 
has got her off and will gain credit for the way he 
did it, the form must be gone through. But come, 
you must be shaved, and then we will arrange you 
so as to receive visitors, if you are able.” 

“ No 1 I won’t stop in bed ; I’ll get up. I feel 
quite well, except my larboard fin is trussed in so 


The Cruise of the Black Priucel 


121 


I can’t move it, and my shoulder seems to throb ; 
but otherwise I’m fit to dance a hornpipe.” 

“ Well ! you are a-docile patient ; but never mind, 
I was told you might dress if you liked, and Toby 
and I will rig you out, if you will trust yourself in 
our hands.” 

Both my valets were as tender as women in 
handling me, but they had to call in the aid of the 
ship’s tailor to cut my coat and vest so as not to 
incommode my wounded shoulder, which he did 
skilfully, and tied the openings together with pieces 
of ribbon. 

As soon as I was dressed I went on deck, and 
on the poop I found the admiral, who again 
thanked me for having, as he said, saved his life, 
and told me that as soon as we had breakfasted he 
would take me on shore in his barge, to pay my 
respects to the governor, though, added he, laugh- 
ing, “I hear you had breakfast rather early this 
morning.” 

“Yes, sir,” I answered. “I am afraid I gave 
trouble.” 

“ No ; you are Richard Forsyth’s guest, and he is 
insulted if his guests don’t consider what he has as 
their own. The dons say, A la disposicio7i de us ted y 
but I say it and mean it.” 

We continued walking up and down on the poop, 
and I was pleased to see that the damage that had 
been done to the Black Prince was being rapidly 


122 


The Cruise of the Black Prince'. 


made good, and George told me that the topmast 
of a prize had been found to be the same size as 
that we had lost, and that before sunset we should 
be all a-taut again. 

At breakfast the admiral proved himself a most 
charming host and perfect gentleman, and very 
different from the morose old sea-bear he had 
seemed to be when I saw him on my first coming 
on board. After breakfast his secretary brought 
the declaration and other papers necessary relative 
to the capture of the Saint Pierre for me to sign, 
and then, with Dormer and the flag-lieutenant, we 
accompanied the admiral to the shore. 

At the Ragged Staff landing the guard was 
turned out to welcome the admiral, and as I looked 
round and saw the wonderful strength of the for- 
tress, with its batteries and casements, the more 
astonished I was at its having been captured and 
surprised by a handful of men under Rooke, and, 
as I was told, almost by accident. 

The governor’s house was an old convent, and it, 
with aide-de*camps and officers in uniform," and 
all the bustle and pomp surrounding a military 
commander’s presence, offered a very different 
appearance to what it must have done when it was 
only tenanted by nuns in their sombre dresses. 
The governor we found in the patio, or courtyard, 
round which the house was built, and he welcomed 
the admiral very warmly, and congratulated him 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


123 


on the result of the action of the day before, and 
paid me a most handsome compliment for what 
he was pleased to call my gallantry in saving the 
admiral’s life. 

A great deal of work was going on in the in- 
creasing of the strength of the fortifications since 
the declaration of war, and though Spain had not 
yet joined France, still she vvas evidently on the 
eve of doing so, and supplies of bullocks and pro- 
visions lor the garrison could only be obtained 
from Morocco, and not from Spain, as was the case 
in ordinary times, while large bodies of Spanish 
troops were encamped round Algeciras and St. 
Roque, and parties of men could be seen every 
day busy in the construction of forts and batteries 
just beyond the neck of land which connects 
Gibraltar to the main. 

As soon as I could I asked about the prize court, 
and when it would be possible for us to bring the 
capture of the Sahit Pierre before it, and the 
governor at once ordered one of his aides to show 
Dormer and myself the way to where the court held 
its sittings, and we found that the next day a court 
would be held, when the case would be disposed 
of, and, as we said that the vessel would be bought 
by George Dormer, it was arranged that the sale 
of her and her cargo should take place immediately 
after her condemnation. 

I was not much inclined for rambling about or 


124 Cruise of the Black Princer 


company, and therefore begged to be excused the 
governor’s invitation to dine with him, and went 
on board my own ship ; and as I stepped on board, 
was gratified by being received with three hearty 
cheers by my ship’s company. I thanked them for 
their sympathy, and then, having had a glance at 
the repairs, which were being rapidly proceeded 
with, I went into my cabin, and, with Merrick, com- 
posed a letter to our owners, to tell them how our 
voyage had progressed up to that time. 

Next day the prize court condemned our prize 
immediately — indeed, I do not think the whole pro- 
ceedings occupied over twenty-five minutes — and 
then the sale took place. No one appeared to bid 
against George Dormer for the vessel herself, and 
the wine found ready purchasers among the officers 
of the fleet and garrison. A few casks of the best 
we reserved for ourselves, and sent one each to the 
admiral and governor in return for their kindness 
and civility. The miscellaneous cargo, being suited 
for African trade, we bought in on account of 
Messrs. Merrick and Floyd. 

Our next proceeding was the fitting of the chasse- 
mar^e for fighting purposes, and by the kindness 
of the admiral, no difficulty was experienced in 
arming her efficiently, and he granted George 
Dormer a letter of marque, with Tom Merrick 
and myself as his sureties. To find a crew was at 
first sight a difficult matter ; but even here money 


TJu Cruise of the Black Prince': 


125 


worked wonders, and an idea that we were lucky 
more, and from some transports that were in the 
bay, we got about thirty good seamen, who, with the 
Jersey men, George said would be sufficient for all 
purposes, and he begged me to let him keep Ralph 
Trevor as his mate. To this I readily assented, 
and having filled up with water we were soon 
ready again lor sea. I went on board the flagship 
to bid good-bye to Admiral Forsyth, and before I 
left he had all his ship’s company called aft on the 
quarter-deck and before them all presented me 
with a handsome sword, which is hanging up before 
me as I write these lines. 

As the French were still lying off Algeciras, we 
waited for an easterly wind and a dark night for 
sailing, and weighing about nine o’clock, ran right 
over to the African coast, and by daylight next 
morning were off Cape Spartel. We went on for 
two or three days without anything occurring, but 
on the fourth day we sighted two vessels to the 
westward of us and standing in towards the land. 
As soon as they saw us they hauled to the wind, 
and we made sail in chase. 

The Saint Pierre^ fore and aft rigged as she was, 
outstripped us, and about twelve in the afternoon 
came up on the weather quarter of the two 
strangers, which at that time were about three 
miles from us and a mile from each other. The 
sternmost of the two was a bluff-built brig, and 


26 


The Cruise of the Black Princel' 


the other a smartly rigged ship, with a huge lateen 
sail on her mizzen-mast, which Jack Jago said he 
was sure was an Algerian or Moorish pirate. 

“ The second must be a prize, I suppose. I do 
not expect they will give her up without a tussel,’^ 
said Tom Merrick, who was standing by me on the 
poop. 

“ Why, yes, I expect we shall have a fight. Mr; 
Trenal, call the men to quarters, and have the 
boarding nettings up, as these Moors carry any 
number of men, and will probably try, if we come 
to close quarters, to carry us by boarding. See, 
there is Dormer opening the ball ; he is firing at 
the brig.” 

“Yes, and the ship’s going about. George must 
take care what he is about, and not get too close 
to her before we come up.” 

Dormer, as soon as he saw the ship tacking, kept 
right away and ran down under the brig’s stern, 
and we could see that evidently a struggle was 
taking place on board the brig, as her foretop-sail 
was lowered half-way down and then hdisted again. 

Jago, who had come up to speak to me, said, 
“ The crew is on board, sir, I expect, and they are 
trying to master the Moors.” 

“Yes. I hope Captain Dormer won’t fire into her 
hull, or he may wound friends instead of enemies.” 

“ Captain Dormer knows what he’s about, sir. 
See, the shot are falling far ahead of the brig. He 


The Cruise of the **Black Princei 


127 


is trying to knock her spars away. Hurrah, there’s 
her maintop-mast down. Now, sir, Master George 
can leave her alone. Signal him to close. You see 
the pirate is standing down towards us on the port 
tack. He’ll fight. You put the ship under topsails.” 

I saw that Jago’s advice was good, and hauled 
the courses up and furled the topgallant sails, an 
example which was immediately followed by the 
enemy. The two ships now closed rapidly, and 
when we were within four hundred yards of each 
other the pirate put her helm up, and tried to run 
across our bows to rake us. I saw that if I kept 
away to prevent this, we should run into her, and 
give her an opportunity of boarding, so put the 
helm down and tacked, exchanging broadsides 
with the enemy whilst we were in stays. Not 
much damage was done to either of us by the 
firing; but we had obtained the w'eather gage. 
The enemy hauled to the wind again on the port 
tack, and we, being now on the same tack, kept on 
exchanging broadsides, while Dormer took up a 
position just astern of us and with a long Spanish 
brass gun, which he had shipped at Gibraltar, 
galled him considerably. 

It was very difficult for me to obtain any ad- 
vantage by manoeuvring as the pirate was very 
smartly worked, but I soon saw that simple broad- 
side work would not give either side any superiority, 
so after a bit resolved to try a daring measure to 


128 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince: 


rake the enemy. I gradually edged down towards 
our opponent, and then, when only at pistol-shot 
distance, I put the helm down, and, squaring my 
yards, let run the foresail, and made a stern board 
across her stern, giving her the starboard broadside 
as I did so. The pirate, seeing our manoeuvre, 
went in stays, but too late to avoid that broadside, 
and, bracing the head-yards a box, I paid the 
Black Prmce off again, and gave her the port 
broadside at pistol-shot distance, without her being 
able to return a shot. The effect of these two 
broadsides was immediately visible, and disastrous 
to the enemy, as her mizzen-mast was shot away 
by the board, and her steering gear disabled. 
Dormer, seeing the position of the enemy, now 
got into a position on her bow, and commenced 
annoying her from there, whilst I wore short round 
on my heel and managed again to pass under his 
stern, and give him another raking broadside, and 
this time we shot away the pirate’s mainyard in 
the slings, and she fell off right before the wind. 

I had now time to look at the brig, and saw that 
she was attempting to make off before the wind. 
Leaving the chasse-mar^e to harass the enemy, I 
made sail after the brig, and after about half an 
hour came up with her, and running her alongside, 
called the boarders. I myself, owing to my 
wounded shoulder, was unable to lead them, but 
Merrick, closely followed by Black Jack and Blood- 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


129 


red Bill, sprang on board instantly, and in another 
moment about forty of my brave fellows were on 
her decks. 

The Moorish prize crew were outnumbered, and, 
though they resisted and fought savagely, they 
could not hold out, and in less than ten minutes 
we were in possession of the Betsy of Bristol, which 
had been captured two days before by the rover. 
Her crew, which had consisted of only twenty 
hands in the first place, had surrendered, after 
heaving their guns and much of their cargo over- 
board in their endeavours to escape. The Moors 
had put a prize crew of thirty men on board, but, 
contrary to their usual practice, had not transferred 
their prisoners to their own vessel ; perhaps, as 
they were close to Salee, not thinking it worth 
while to do so. When the Englishmen had seen 
us, they had attempted to shorten sail, but had, 
after a plucky struggle — in which, though unarmed, 
they had inflicted much damage on their captors 
with handspikes and marlinspikes — been forced 
to succumb, with the third of their number killed 
or wounded. These had all been thrown over- 
board, and the remainder had been lashed to the 
best bower cable, and some of the cruel devils 
whom we had conquered were just about to cut 
the lashings of the anchor, when Black Jack and 
his chum, who saw what they were going to do, 
cut the men down who were about it. Taking 


130 The Crtdse of the Black Prmcel 


a leaf out of their book, we lashed all our 
captives to the cables, and then, leaving Trenal 
with four of our men to assist the survivors of the 
brig’s crew, we stood again towards the Moorisli 
ship which was being severely handled by George 
Dormer with his long gun. 

As we drew near, the pirates managed to sweep 
their bow round, so that their broadside should 
bear on us, and saluted us warmly, being evidently 
determined to fight to the last. As they seemed 
wishful of a good thrashing I did not disappoint 
them, and, manoeuvring so as to get across their 
bows, poured in broadside after broadside. They 
fought gallantly and stubbornly, and again managed 
to get some guns to bear on us, and, although we 
soon knocked a hole in their bows, through which 
the Lord Mayor could have driven his coach, stuck 
to them like fiends. 

I found that we were losing men and our masts 
were wounded, so that I had to lower our topsails, 
and was about to run her on board and bring the 
fight to an end that way, when Jago, who heard 
me giving the orders, begged me to desist, as he 
said, notwithstanding the pounding we had given 
them, they could still muster two or three to our 
one, and that, in such a struggle as would ensue 
no quarter could be asked or given. “Tell the 
men to fire low, and sink her, sir! ” 

I gave orders to depress the guns, and soon we 


The Cruise of the ''Black Princel 


131 


saw that the enemy was getting lower in the water, 
while we ourselves had received some shots between 
wnnd and water, which had necessitated my sending 
my black sail-trimmers to the pumps. 

In about another twenty minutes, we could see 
that the pirate was evidently settling fast, but the 
fiends who manned her showed no signs of sur- 
rendering ; and still to the best of their ability 
returned our fire. Soon she was rolling her main- 
deck guns under water, but from guns on her fore- 
castle they yet fired at us. 

Suddenly she gave a great lurch and rolling 
over on one side sank, leaving floating a quantity 
of wreckage, among which could be seen the forms 
of a numbers of swimmers. Anxious, if possible, 
even now to save life, I stood into the midst of it, 
and ordered ropes to be thrown to the drowning 
men ; but out of the whole of her crew, we were 
only successful in rescuing about thirty, and these 
until they were made prisoners seemed inclined to 
fight against us. 

Merrick shouted out to me as I was superintend- 
ing the work of securing the prisoners, “Lord, 
what’s up with the brig ? She’s showing signals of 
distress. Why, she’s on fire ! ” 

Jumping on the poop, I looked in her direction, 
and saw a great smoke rising from her main hatch- 
way, and that the men on board were getting her 
boats out. I could not until my masts were secured 


i^2 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


go to her assistance ; but Dormer ran down to her 
in the Saint Pierre, and, launching his boat, brought 
all away from her, as Trenal had been only able to 
get one boat out, and that was only large enough 
to carry the English without the Moors. As soon 
as all were out of her, the flames obtained a com- 
plete mastery ; and all the satisfaction we had foi 
our hard day’s fighting was the knowledge that we 
had sunk a pirate, and rescued half a dozen English- * 
men from slavery or worse. 


The Cruise of the ''Black Primel 


133 


CHAPTER XII. 

Dormer came on board, bringing his prisoners 
with him, and I had them secured with the rest ; 
and Trenal coming too, I learnt that when the brig 
had been retaken, some of the Moors must have 
gone below and fired the ship, as when the flames 
were first discovered they were extinguished, but 
immediately afterwards it was found that the ship 
was on fire in some half-dozen places, and that 
work as they might, they could not prevent the 
flames obtaining the mastery ; and when they had 
attempted to get the boats out, and released the 
prisoners to take them out of the burning vessel, 
• they had given great trouble, and it was only 
when the boat from the Samt Pierre came to their 
assistance, that they had been able to keep them 
in any order. 

The condition of the Black Prince was now 
sufficiently serious to occupy my whole attention, 
and McAllister had his hands full in attending to 
the wounded, as, in such a severe action as we had 
fought, we could not have been expected to escape 


134 


The Cruise of the Black Pnnce! 


without loss of men, and I was grieved to find that 
five men had been killed and ten wounded, of 
whom three could not be expected to recover. 

The shot-holes we soon plugged from within, and 
then, the weather being fine, I ordered stages to be 
slung over the side, to have patches nailed on and 
cleated over them ; and, sending down all my top 
hamper, I set the men to fish my lower masts, and 
by working night and day, thirty-six hours after 
the action was over I was able to make sail and 
stand on my course towards the Canary Islands. 

But before this we had an exciting occurrence, 
which I will relate as it happened. When the 
Moorish prisoners were secured on board the Black 
Prince, I thought that Black Jack, having been a 
prisoner at Algiers, and understanding something 
of their lingo, would be the properest man to have 
charge of their guards. He took good care to 
secure them well, and among them he found two 
negro slaves, who, he thought, were not such blood- 
thirsty desperadoes as the rest of them, and with 
these he made shift to enter into conversation, and 
found that the ship we had sunk was an Algerine 
corsair, called the Golden Lion, and that she had 
been commanded by a Genoese renegado, and that 
she had been, in company with two other Algerines, 
to Salee. Her consorts had returned to Algiers ; 
but her captain had thought that perhaps there 
would be a chance of making a prize if he stood 


The Cruise of the Black Prince'. 


135 


boldly out into the Atlantic. In this he had been 
successful, having captured the Betsy. These 
negroes told Black Jack that the prisoners had 
decided on setting fire to our ship, and trusted in 
the consequent confusion, if not to seize the ship, 
at all events to be able to make their escape in our 
boats. 

When this was reported to me, I considered that 
keeping such a gang of desperate fellows on board 
would be always a source of danger, and decided, 
as they had an idea of taking to the boats, to give 
them an opportunity at once, and put them all in 
the boat of the Betsy and one of ours ; and, giving 
them provisions and water, oars, sails, and a com- 
pass, set them their course for Salee. 

Soon after they left the sun set, and about nine 
o’clock I was surprised to hear firing on board the 
Saint Pierre. I was unable to render any assistance ; 
but by the light of a blue light which was burnt on 
board the chasse-mareey I made out that she was 
attacked by the boats. We could hear the struggle 
going on for some time, but about ten o’clock it 
ceased, and soon after George Dormer came on 
board, to report that he had been boarded, and very 
nearly carried by surprise, by our late prisoners. 
He said he was standing by the helm, the chasse- 
mar^e being hove to under just enough sail to keep 
her steady, and nearly all hands were asleep after 
the fatigues of the day, when he suddenly thought 


136 The Cruise of the Black Princel* 


he heard the sound of oars ; and, rushing to the 
vessers side, he saw the two boats pulling towards 
them. Instantly he called all hands, and, seizing a 
musket, discharged it at the boats. In a moment 
they were alongside, and the Moors swarmed over 
the low sides of the Saint Pierre^ and a desperate 
struggle commenced. 

Though the corsairs were fewer in numbers than 
our men, this was to a great extent made up by the 
latter being taken by surprise, and roused out of 
their sleep to contend with desperate foe. One 
side was about equal with the other as regarded 
arms, as the men seized whatever came first to hand ; 
but fortunately a body of the Moors who were 
making their way forward, trod on the main hatches 
which were not properly shipped, and were pitched 
down in the hold, from which not one of them 
succeeded in escaping with life, all being bent 
down, as they attempted to struggle on deck, with 
handspikes and musket-butts, whilst a happy 
thought coming into the minds of those who were 
resisting their struggles, to pitch round shot down 
on them, those who were once beaten down could 
not again make an attempt to gain the deck. 

This accident turned the tide in our favour, and 
the remaining corsairs, who one and all refused 
quarter, were either killed or driven overboard. 
On our side several men were injured, but none 
killed, and I soon had the satisfaction of receiving 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


137 


a report from McAllister, whom I had sent on 
board, that the worst cases were two men with 
broken arms, the rest of the cases being bad bruises 
and broken heads. 

I now sent for the men of the Betsy, who I found 
were willing enough to ship with us, and formed 
a welcome addition to our numbers, after the 
severe losses we had sustained in this action. The 
Betsy, I found was a Bristol craft, which had been 
bound down to Old Calabar, and though but an 
indifferent sailer, her captain had attempted to 
escape by sailing, and in order to aid in that had 
thrown his guns overboard, and thus, when over- 
taken by the Algerine, had fallen an easy prey. 
,The captain and officers had, when it came to close 
quarters, shown a gallant example to their men, 
but had all been killed, and those that we had 
rescued were only A.B/s, and could tell us little 
about the vessel or her owners, except their names. 

We now shaped our course for the Peak of 
Teneriffe, and George Dormer and I consulted 
earnestly as to what would be the most advisable 
steps for us to take to enable him to get Donna 
Juanita away from the care of her uncle. At last 
we decided to get close off the Grand Canary in 
company, and then early one morning the Saint 
Pierre should run into the anchorage off Las 
Palmas under French colours, and that we should 
apparently pursue her, and that Trevor should 


138 The Cruise of ihe Black PrinceB 


take the part of a French captain, and, with the 
Jersey men, make all communications with the 
Spaniards. 

We did not doubt that very little suspicion 
would be entertained of the real character of the 
Saint Pierre^ and we would afford her an excuse 
for remaining there by hovering off the port, and 
Trevor could go on shore every day, and by all 
the means in his power endeavour to open com- 
munications with Donna Juanita, and when once 
he had done so, tell her that George was on board 
the chasse-maree, and find out from her some way 
in which she could be conveyed on board. We 
in the mean time, whilst keeping off in the day-time, 
should after nightfall each day stand in as close as 
we could without risk, and cover the escape of the 
Saint Pierre^ if Don Luis should discover the 
absence of his niece before she was safe from 
pursuit. 

In order to make the risks as small as possible, 
we put twenty extra hands on board the Saint 
Pierre^ and cleared out a portion of the hold, where 
they and the other English hands could remain 
hid in the day-time, and we arranged a code of 
signals, which could be used without exciting 
suspicion, to inform me of what success attended 
their surprise. 

Dormer promised to all hands such a handsome 
gift if he was successful, that the good wishes of 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


139 


all were enlisted on his behalf ; and I felt sure that 
the crews of both vessels were so confident in the 
good fortune which had hitherto attended us, that 
they were all sure of success, and if need were, they 
would readily attempt to land, and endeavour to 
carry the lady off by force, in case the stratagems 
which we intended to make use of failed. 

After a few days we sighted the Peak, and then 
we steered towards Las Palmas, and the wind 
serving us, we were able at daylight one morning 
to commence our sham chase of the Saint Pierre. 
As we drew in towards the town, we could see 
lying at anchor a large vessel, flying the scarlet and 
gold banner of Spain, w'hich we soon made out 
to be a friga j^^and besides her there were only 
several island craft lying at anchor, though inside 
the mole we could make out some half-dozen large 
gunboats. As we drew near to the anchorage firing 
at the Saint Pierre^ we could make out that troops 
v^ere being marched into the batteries, and the 
frigate was being cleared for action. 

We stood almost within gunshot of the batteries, 
firing at the Saint PierrCy which ran close in to 
the mole and anchored ; whilst we, hauling to the 
wind, stood off and on, as if watching for her to 
make an attempt to run out again. 

From our maif<»op we could see the people 
down on the mole, and the batteries all manned, 
and immediately the chasse-mar^e anchored, a boat 


140 The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


put off to her. This was to me the anxious time, 
as I was doubtful how Ralph Trevor would carry 
off his assumption of the character of a Frencli 
skipper. The signal agreed bn that he was not 
suspected was that he should hoist the Spanish 
colours and salute them. This he did ; and after- 
wards hoisted the French over the English colours. 
At this we fired a shot, as if in defiance, and 
commenced to beat up to windward. 

At nightfall we stood down again, cleared for 
action, in order to cover the escape of the Sai?if 
PierrCy but at three o’clock she hoisted two lan- 
terns, one above the other, as a signal that there 
had been no chance of communicating with 
Donna Juanita, and we again b(?i\f^to windward, 
so as to be well out of the way of the examina- 
tion of the Spaniards. 

This went on for a whole week, and I was very 
anxious, for fear that George Dormer might be- 
come so impatient, that he would run some 
hazardous risk in order to be able to communicate 
with his lady-love, and would fall into the hands 
of the Spaniards, in which case, I felt sure he 
would be handed over to the tender mercies of 
the Inquisition, which still flourished, in all its 
horrors, in these island dependencies of Spain. 

At last, one night, as we stood in, we saw that 
the town was in flte^ and that many of the public 
buildings, and especially the cathedral, were illumi- 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


I41 


nated. We could hear the clanging of the bells 
and the music of military bands, and, at about ten 
o’clock, there was evidently a procession by torch- 
light, which, after passing all round the town, 
stopped in front of the cathedral. 

Merrick, who was by me on the poop watching 
what was going on, said, “ I should not wonder if 
George made his bold stroke for a bride to-night. 
All the people will be going to the cathedral, and 
no doubt Donna Juanita will have to accompany 
her uncle, and perhaps she may be able to slip 
away on leaving, and the festa will be an excuse 
for a boat to be in at the mole all night.” 

" That’s true,” I replied ; " and we must keep a 
good look-out. I will stand in closer than usual. 
I expect many of the crews of the Spanish ships 
will be on shore. What an opportunity it would be 
if war with Spain had been declared ! We could 
run in and give a few broadsides, and run out 
again, without receiving a shot in exchange.” 

We went as close in as we possibly could, and 
then I shortened sail to topsails, jib, and driver, and 
had all ready for making sail again in a moment, 
and watched earnestly for any disturbance on shore. 

At last we heard the music of a band suddenly 
stop, and could see lights moving about on the 
mole, as if some struggle were going on, and then 
a sharp musketry fire from the molehead, which 
was soon taken up by ships and boats. We could 


142 The Cruise of the Black Prince.” 


trace the progress of a boat from the mole towards 
the Saint Pierre, by the direction in which this 
nre was directed, and soon the signal agreed on, 
of three lanterns disposed horizontally, was hoisted 
on board the chasse-marie, to tell us that the 
attempt had been made, but whether it had been 
successful or not, we were still in ignorance. 

I instantly gave orders to make sail, and stood 
in so as to protect the Saint Pierre from the fire of 
the Spanish frigate. On shore and on board the 
frigate bugles and guns were calling the men to 
arms ; and by the starlight I could see the Saint 
Pierres sails hoisted, and that she was slipping 
away from the anchorage, pursued by some large 
row-boats, with which she was interchanging a 
lively fire. 

The frigate evidently was preparing to get 
under way, and we could make out she was 
loosing her sails, and soon she commenced firing 
from her foremost guns at the Saint Pierre. As 
we closed on her, she transferred some of her 
attention to ourselves, and gave me an excuse for 
carrying out the plan I had in my head, of run- 
ning close across her bows, and giving her a 
raking broadside. As our plans were that the 
Saint Pierre should beat up at first to windward, 
immediately I had delivered this broadside I 
hove in stays, and again crossed the frigate’s 
bows, and repeated my salute. All on board her 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


143 


was evidently in confusion, and we must have 
shot away her riding-cable, for we could see she 
was drifting down on the shore, and by the phos- 
phorescent light caused by the splash that she 
had let go another anchor. 

Leaving her to her own devices, we stood after 
the Saint Pierre^ which had shaken off all her 
pursuers save two large gunboats, each pulling 
about forty oars, which had put out from inside 
the mole, and, passing by the smaller boats which 
had started at first, were rapidly closing on the 
Saint Pierre^ which had got a gun aft, and was 
peppering away at them as hard as she could, 
whilst they were replying from the guns they had 
mounted in their bows. We fortunately were now 
able, the frigate having her own affairs to attend 
to, to join in the game ; and, shooting the ship up 
in the wind, I let fly a broadside of grape case 
and landgridge, at musket-shot range, into the 
nearer of the two, and completely crippled her. 

I boxed off again, and stood on after the other, 
which had now got so close to the Saint Pierre, 
that I could not fire at her without danger of 
damaging our friends. The chasse-mar^e, though 
she went well through the water, could not shake 
off this persistent pursuer, and at last we could see 
that the gunboat had got alongside and grappled. 
I knew that these gunboats sometimes carried, in 
addition to their crews, some sixty soldiers, and 


144 Cruise of the Black Princel’ 


was much afraid lest George and his crew should 
be overpowered before we could get up to them, as 
they were so far to windward that I had to make a 
couple of short boards before I was able to run the 
ship alongside. 

However, our fellows held gallantly out, and 
fighting for an idea and for the happiness of a 
brother salt, they, in spite of superior numbers, kept 
the Dons at bay, until I could pour my men down 
into the gunboat. The Spaniards, assailed in front 
and rear, threw down their arms and begged for 
quarter ; so, pitching their gun and arms overboard, 
and taking their oars on board, we let her go adrift, 
but just before we did so. Black Jack and Rill 
Cundy shouted out, “ Here’s a padre here on this 
boat ; shall we keep him ? ” 

“Keep him? what for?” said George and I 
in a breath, as we were shaking hands and con- 
gratulating each other on the success of our 
enterprise. 

“ Why, your honours,” said Bill, “ I don’t want to 
be wanting in respect ; but perhaps the young lady 
won’t be quite satisfied with a ship marriage, and 
this here gentleman in black may be able to buckle 
her and Cap’n Dormer together shipshape and 
Bristol fashion. That’s so. Bo’.” 

“Ay,” said Jack. “ He seems a decent lad for a 
priest, and when he’s done his duty there, he won’t 
be a bad hand for a mate to the doctor.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


145 


** All right, my men,’* I said ; " pass him on board. 
But now, George, where is the lady ? ** 

** Oh, she and two of her women are below.** 

“ All right. Now I think the ladies will be best 
on board the Black Prince, where they can have the 
great cabin and the state rooms off it, and surely 
Trevor can look out for the Saint Pierre for a bit. 
Where is he, by-the-by ? ” 

“I don’t know; I know he’s on board; but if 
you’d seen him knock the Spaniards over with an 

eight-foot wax-candle ” 

** Never mind stories now ; we must get away. 
There are some more gunboats inside the mole, and 
they and the frigate would be nasty customers in 
daylight Ah! here comes Trevor. — What’s the 
matter, man?” I said, as I saw he had his head 
bound up. 

"Nothing much, sir. My skull’s too thick for a 
Spaniard ; but I’ve had a crack from one of them, 
and I feel somewhat queer.” 

“Well, get on board the ship, and I’ll send 
Trenal here to take command for the time.” 

“No, sir, I shall be all right Jean Artimon can 
sail and handle the craft as well as I, and a 
couple of hours’ sleep will put me all to rights ; I’ve 
had many shrewder knocks than this.” 

“Well, well, now bear a hand, and let’s get away 
from here as quick as we may.” 

We soon passed the ladies up on board the Black 

L 


146 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


Prince, where, in anticipation of this event, I had 
arranged the cabins for them as well as the means 
at my disposal would allow, having, with the full 
concurrence of my super-cargo, Tom Merrick, 
broached cargo, and got up some of the more 
valuable stuffs, with which to form curtains and 
hangings, and in some measure veil the roughness 
of our quarters. 

We were by no means too quick about this, for, 
although much to my astonishment and delight, 
the frigate did not come out after us, three more 
large gunboats were despatched in pursuit, soon 
after we had again made sail, and being very swift 
under oars, they became very annoying ; and as I 
found that they would not come to close quarters, 
nor yet be driven away by our fire, I determined 
on giving one which was hanging on my beam at 
about a cable and a half distance the stem, and 
give his companions some work in rescuing his crew 
from drowning. 

I accordingly squared away my afteryards and 
put my helm hard up. The officer in command of 
the gunboat at first did not understand what I was 
doing ; but when he saw me paying off, he lost his 
head, and, instead of ceasing from pulling and 
backing his oars so that I should pass ahead of 
him, we could hear him giving orders to pull, and 
the boatswains swearing and threshing the men as 
they tugged at their huge oars. As I could quite 


The Cruise of the “Black Princei 


147 


understand what he was intending, I righted my 
helm before we had paid right off, and we caught 
him a fair blow just about ten feet from his stern. 

The crash was a startling one, and though we 
did not go over the gunboat, as I had almost 
expected, we cut her down to the water’s edge, and 
swung her right alongside, carrying away all her 
port oars as we rushed past her, and at the same 
time we gave her a volley from our small arms. 

As soon as we were clear, I hauled to the wind 
again, and was glad to see that the two remaining 
gunboats gave up the chase, and went to the 
assistance of their disabled consort. 

We continued to beat to windward, and when 
day dawned we were safe from pursuit, although 
we could still make out the shipping off Las 
Palmas, and could see the frigate lying over on her 
side close off the molehead. 

“ I say,” said Merrick, “ we’re safe now ; that 
second anchor can’t have held, and she’s drifted 
ashore.” 

“ Yes,” I said ; “ but what will be said about 
all this if the news gets to England } We’re not 
at war with his most Catholic Majesty.” 

“Never mind ; George has got his bride. But 
where is he ? Here he comes. Now, George, we 
want to have an account of all that you have been 
doing. You went for one lady, and you’ve got three 
ar/d a priest.” 

But George’s story may begin another chapter. 


148 The Cruise of the Black PrinceJ 


CHAPTER XIII. 

George began, “All’s well that ends well, old 
friends ; but if it had not been for the sheer audacity 
of that fellow Trevor, we should never have been here. 
I’ve been masquerading as a Jacobite with the Irish 
refugees on shore there, and have sworn to pilot 
I don’t know how many vessels up the Thames, 
or where not I know not.” 

“ What ! Irish refugees ? ” 

“Yes; there are many Irish families here who 
left Ireland after the battle of the Boyne, and 
some of these have been mixed up in every Jacobite 
plot that there has been. Three men we met were 
out in the ’45, and one of them Trevor had run 
across the Channel. Some of these fellows must 
be on board the Saint Pierre now, and I expect 
Trevor will have some difficulty with them ; but 
he’s a fellow of marvellous resource and infinite 
wit and variety, and I doubt not that he will find 
some means of satisfying them.” 

“ Let him settle with them, then ; but now you 
must allow us to pay our respects to the Lady 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


149 


Juanita, and then we shall have the account of your 
adventures and settle on our future proceedings.” 

On our entering the cabin, we found Donna 
Juanita and her two attendants sitting down^ and 
evidently very anxious as to what had happened ; 
and as soon as they saw us, they sprang to their 
feet, and Donna Juanita, rushing to George, threw 
herself into his arms, and commenced weeping and 
sobbing. After a time she became quiet, and 
I could, when I saw her, quite understand the 
willingness of my friend to undergo any risks 
in order to obtain possession of so beautiful a 
creature. 

George presented me and Merrick to her, and 1 
endeavoured to muster up enough Spanish to 
assure her that she was now perfectly safe, and 
that I and eveiy man under my command would 
sooner lay down our lives than she should be torn 
from the arms of her lover. 

She replied in the prettiest possible broken 
English, that she was intensely thankful for the 
assistance that we had been to her dear George, 
in assisting her to make her escape from the 
custody of her uncle, and said that we were her 
countrymen, as she was now no longer a Spaniard, 
but an Englishwoman. “ And you, Signor Captain,” 
she finished with saying, “ are now separated from 
your heart’s love. Let us hope that you will, like 
George, find brave friends to assist you in the 


150 The Cruise of the Black Princer 

attainment of your desires as you and your friends 
have assisted George.” 

I thanked her for her good wishes, and telling 
her to ask for whatever she might want, withdrew* 
leaving George Dormer with her. 

After some time George came on deck again, 
and said that Donna Juanita, worn out by the 
fatigue and excitement of the previous day, was 
endeavouring to sleep. 

“ And now,” he said, “ I will endeavour to tell 
you what has happened whilst we were at anchor 
off Las Palmas. 

“ As soon as we anchored, a boat came off from 
the shore, in which was an officer, sent by the 
governor to ask who and what we were. Trevor 
said that we were the Saint Pierre of Bourdeaux, 
bound for Goree, and that we had left France 
almost immediately after the declaration of war 
between England and France. This seemed to 
cause astonishment, as no news had arrived of war 
having broken out. Trevor then said he had been 
chased by you, and had run into a Spanish port, 
as the Kings of Spain and France were allies, and 
that, although there was yet no war between 
England and Spain, it was to be expected at 
any moment 

“ All the resources of the port were at once placed 
at the disposal of Trevor, and he has filled up 
with water and provisions, and has got a lot of 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


n 


I5I 


fowls, eggs, and vegetables on board. He was 
asked to go on shore to tell the governor all the 
news, and take his papers with him. Fortunately, 
he had kept copies of the despatches which had 
been on board, and the old French log-book, which 
latter he had filled up with fictitious entries of a 
voyage from the time we had picked her up. 

“In the evening he came on board again, and, 
coming into the cabin where I was remaining hid 
away, told me that almost immediately on land- 
ing, he had heard a man saying, ‘Why, Master 
Trevor, what are ye doing here ? ’ Looking round, 
he saw an Irish gentleman named Patrick O’Connor, 
whom he had conveyed from London to the 
Continent after the Jacobite rising of 1845. 

“ He at once saw that to deny his identity would 
be dangerous, and, though he wished his quondam 
acquaintance fathoms deep, he at once returned 
his greeting, and said — 

“ ‘ I might repeat your question ; but my name 
now is Amarre, and I’m skipper of this chasse- 
marde which was chased into the anchorage by that 
Hanoverian ship this morning.’ 

“ ‘ Come,’ said O’Connor, ‘ ye’re none the worse 
for a change of name ; but an honest gentleman 
who belongs to the true Church, and has remained 
faithful to his king, will be welcome.’ 

“ ‘ How did you come here ? ’ said Trevor. 

“ ‘Why, there’s just a colony of Irish have been 


1 52 The Cruise of the ** Black Princel 


here for the last fifty years, and when I found that 
’tvvas useless to try to get a living in France — for 
though I might get a bite by St. Patrick, ^twas 
difficult to get a sup, — I, and some others who had 
been hanging about St. Germains, decided on 
making our way here, where we had relations ; and 
now I am a captain in the island militia.* 

“‘I’m glad to hear it,* said Trevor, ‘and after 
I have paid my devoirs to his Excellency the 
Governor, I will e’en come and pay you a visit' 
“Captain O’Connor insisted on accompanying 
Trevor to the governor’s palace, and told all he 
met that he was like himself, an honest gentleman 
who had been forced to leave his country on 
account of his attachment to his lawful king. 

“This rumour had, when Trevor was ushered into 
the governor’s presence, reached him, and he 
subjected the ex-Jacobite highwayman to a severe 
cross-examination, which he succeeded in passing 
successfully. Whilst in the governor’s palace he 
kept a good look-out to see if he could see any 
ladies, or any means of communicating with them, 
but in this he did not succeed. When at last he 
was able to leave the governor, he found Captain 
O’Connor and some other Irishmen waiting 
outside for him ; and they insisted on carrying 
him to the house of one of them, and entertaining 
him most hospitably. In the course of conversa- 
tion, they said that there were going to be a series 


The Cniise of the Black Pri/iceJ 


153 


of files and festas, in honour of the anniversary of 
the settlement of this place by the Spaniards and 
that these were to commence on the following day 
by a masked ball at the palace. 

When he came on board, he told me of this, and 
said that he would go to the ball, and it would be 
hard indeed if he did not get speech of Donna 
Juanita, and tell her that I had come to rescue her 
from the tyrannical guardianship of her uncle. 
I proposed that I should accompany him, as it 
would be easy enough to go to the ball in a 
domino without being found out ; but he said he 
thought it would be very dangerous, and urged 
that he would be able to manage better if he were 
not hampered by the fear of my being discovered. 
After some time I agreed to what he said, and 
only stipulated that I should be one of the boat’s 
crew, which should wait for him at the mole whilst 
he was at the ball. 

“Next morning, however, before we were dressed, 
a boat came off to the vessel, and in this was 
Captain O’Connor ; and before I could leave the 
cabin and get away forward among the crew, he 
was on board and asking for his dear friend and 
comrade Captain Trevor, and in a couple of 
minutes more, notwithstanding the endeavours of 
Artimon and some others, insisted on coming below. 

“ ‘ Sure, my hearty,’ he said, ‘ ye would not be so 
cruel as to kape me waitin’ on deck ; I’ve come to 


154 Cruise of the ''Black Prince^ 

pay you a visit, and while you’re here ye can come 
ashore and stop with the gentlemen you met 
yesterday, and drink confusion to the Hanoverian 
rats.’ 

“ I attempted to get out of the cabin without 
being noticed by the irrepressible Irishman, but he 
put up his hand to stop me, and I, forgetting that 
we were supposed to be French, told him in 
English to let me pass. 

^“He said, ‘Trevor, why, what are you? are all 
your crew refugees, my dear ? ’ 

“ And Trevor answered, ‘ Why no ; but that is my 
mate, a worthy English gentleman, who has been 
sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered, and 
who managed to make his escape from Carlisle 
gaol, and, in order to gain a livelihood, has been 
glad to come to sea.’ 

“‘Sure,’ said O’Connor, who, notwithstanding 
die earliness of the hour, had been drinking 
heavily, ‘ Tm proud of the honour of meeting him, 
and if he will accompany you, we can all drink the 
young Cavalier’s health together.’ 

“ I was delighted at the turn affairs had taken, 
and professed my readiness to accept the invitation, 
if Trevor would give me permission. 

“ He said that there was work to be done on 
board, and acted the hard-hearted skipper to 
perfection. I was too sensible of the risk I had 
already run to interfere with him, but he at last 


The Cruise of the ''Black Princel 


155 


said that he would have no objection to my coming 
on shore for an hour or two after the day’s work 
was finished, and then, in order to keep O’Connor 
from finding out how' many English there were on 
board, proposed to him to go on shore at once, in 
order to Eavc a look at the place. 

“ Soon after they were gone, I had another fright, 
for a boat came from the Spanish frigate to know 
if we had received any damage whilst being 
chased by you, and to offer assistance, and I had 
to run the gauntlet of the questions of the officer, 
and to tell as many stories as if I had been an 
army contractor. I refused all the offers, and 
managed to prevent any of the boat’s crew coming 
on board, and the officer I entertained in the cabin 
with a bottle of wine, and managed to tell him 
.something of the same story that Trevor had told 
O’Connor; but I could not help thinking how 
unfortunate was the presence of these Irish 
Jacobites in the island. At last the Spanish officer 
left ; and, in order to keep up our character, I had 
to send some of our Jersey men away with the 
boat and casks to get water, though during the 
whole time they were absent I was in an agony of 
fear, lest some indiscretion on their part should 
cause our real character to be discovered. 

“Luckily nothing happened, and when at four 
o'clock I went ashore to meet O’Connor and 
Trevor, I left word with Artimon not to allow any 


156 The Cruise of the Black Priitcel' 


boats to come alongside, and that as soon as it 
was dark, he was to loose the sails and have them 
ready for hoisting, and axes placed to cut the 
cable in a moment, if we succeeded in bringing 
Donna Juanita off. 

** Trevor, with two Irishmen, met me as I landed, 
and I found that our friend O’Connor had been so 
engaged in pledging the Jacobite cause that he was 
unable to leave his house. We first went for a 
walk through the town, and I carefully noticed 
every street and turning, so that if I were successful 
in getting speech of Juanita, and she could get 
away, we should not lose our way in making for 
the boat. 

“ When we had finished our stroll our Irish friends 
invited us into the house belonging to one of them 
and then we were all introduced to his wife and 
daughters, who were busy in their preparations for 
the masked ball. I again proposed that we should 
go, and they at once entertained the idea, and sent 
out to get us masks and dominoes ; and about 
seven o’clock, lighted by some slaves carrying 
torches, we all made our way to the palace. 
When we got in we found the rooms crowded, 
and I was fearful lest, among so many people all 
masked and dressed alike, I should fail in recog- 
nizing her for whose sake I was running the risk. 
I had one of the Irish ladies (or rather, one of the 
half-Irish, half-Spanish ladies) on my arm, and she 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


157 


amused herself by telling me, as far as she could 
guess, who the different masks were. 

“ At last she led me to the principal saloon, and 
said, ‘ Now I will show you some one who, if you 
could see her with her mask off, you would con- 
sider the most beautiful woman you had ever 
seen.’ 

“ My heart leaped to my mouth, for I was sure 
she could mean none other than Juanita ; but, con- 
cealing my agitation as best I could, I asked her 
who she meant. 

‘“Why, the governor’s niece, Donna Juanita da 
Sotoma}^or. It will be easy to recognize her, for 
I have found out that she is to wear a white 
domino with gold embroidery. Ah ! there she is. 
Docs not she walk and move gracefully } ’ 

“ Notwithstanding that her face was masked and 
her lovely figure shrouded by the folds of her 
domino, I had no difficulty in recognizing Juanita, 
and now my whole energies were turned to the 
solution of the problem of how I could manage 
to speak to her. I thought of many plans, and 
last decided to write a few words on a slip of 
paper and, pretending to pick it up near her, ask 
her if she had dropped it. In order to do this 
I had to get clear of my partner, and, making 
an excuse that I felt faint and overcome by the 
heat of the room, I asked Trevor, who was close 
by and alone, to take care of the fair senhorita. 


158 'Ihe Cruise of the Black Prlucel 


“I immediately went out, and, tearing a sheet 
out of my pocket-book, wrote on it a few lines, 
telling Juanita that I was there, and that if she 
would tell me how it could be managed, we were 
ready to carry her off in the Saint Pierre. 

“Returning to the ballroom, I watched for an 
opportunity of carrying out my intention, and at 
last fortune favoured me, for Juanita asked the 
cavalier on whose arm she was leaning to take 
her into a room where there were but few people, 
as she felt the heat oppressive, and then, taking a 
seat, sent him to procure her some lemonade. I had 
followed her closely, and the instant her partner 
had quitted her I approached, and, stooping down, 
pretended to pick up my note and gave it her. 

“ At first she said she had dropped nothing, but 
then she recognized my voice, and gave a scream 
and sprang to her feet, trembling violently, and 
seemed as if she would have fallen. I put my 
arm round her waist and replaced her in her seat, 
and begged her to compose herself, and, above all, 
to carefully guard the paper I had given her. Our 
action had attracted the attention of the other 
occupants of the room, and they came flocking 
round us. I said that the lady had been taken 
ill, and I would go and send her attendants to her 
if the ladies present would in the mean time attend 
to her wants, and was making my way out of the 
room, when 1 met her partner returning with a 


The Crttise of the Black Pnnce! 


159 


glass of lemonade. I took it from him, and asked 
to at once send her women to her, and, returning 
to where I had left her, I found that she had 
removed her mask, and was being fanned by some 
of the ladies. I requested them to give her air, and 
stand aside while I gave her the lemonade, and 
in a whisper begged her to restrain her feelings, 
and to read the paper I had given her when she 
should have reached the privacy of her chamber. 
She gave me a look expressive of the fondest 
devotion, and said, ‘ I will be brave, my beloved ; 
but now go, for if my uncle should recognize you 
he will not scruple to hand you over to the 
Inquisition, and then ay-de-mi ; ’ and she shuddered 
at the thoughts of what might befall me. 

By this time her uncle and her attendants had 
arrived, and I slipped away, and, finding Trevor, 
told him what had occurred, and as he said search 
would be sure to be made for the unknown who 
had spoken to Donna Juanita, we agreed to leave 
at once and get on board. We soon got down 
to the mole, and, finding our boat in readiness, 
pulled on board. 

“ I was so agitated that I could not sleep, and 
remained pacing up and down the deck till early 
dawn, when, as no symptoms of any suspicion 
attaching to us having appeared, I ordered the 
sails to be furled, and, going below, flung myself 
into my berth to snatch a short repose. 


i6o The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


“ In the morning Patrick O’Connor and two of 
the other Irish gentlemen came on board, and they 
were full of the occurrence of the night before, and 
said that it had been given out that the governor 
wanted to find who was the mysterious gentleman 
who had been speaking to his niece the night 
before, and whom she declared she did not know. 
I was fearful of showing any undue anxiety, though 
I was longing to know if she had suffered any ill 
effects from the shock of seeing me, and dared not 
ask any question about her ; but Trevor, divining 
my thoughts, said, ‘ And how is the lady herself ? ’ 

“ ‘ Oh,’ answered O’Connor, ‘she’s none the worse. 
I met the doctor who attends on her this morning, 
and he says all she was suffering from was the heat 
of the rooms, and that she will be right in a few 
hours.’ 

“ I was relieved to hear this, and was glad when 
our visitors left, taking Trevor with them. I re- 
fused all their entreaties to accompany them, as I 
was sure that Juanita’s woman’s wits would provide 
her with some means of informing me of her plans, 
and giving me directions as to how I should best 
co-operate with her in arranging her escape. 

“ In this I was not disappointed, for in the after- 
noon a boat came alongside, ostensibly for the 
purpose of selling vegetables and fruit to the crew ; 
and the padrona sent into the cabin a huge bouquet, 
which he begged to offer to the Senhor Capitan as 


The Cmise of the “Black Prince ^ i6i 


a present in return for his being allowed to trade 
with the men. I at first thought that this was only 
a piece of ordinary civility on his part, and did not 
look at it carefully ; but, time hanging heavily on 
m\- hands, after a time I took it up, and then saw" 
that the flowers were arranged so as to form a “ J ” 
in the centre. I immediately divined who had sent 
it, and, undoing it carefully, I found in the centre a 
long letter from my sweetheart She began by 
reproaching me for running risks for her sake, but 
said that she could not blame me, as she would risk 
anything for me. This bouquet she had managed 
to get brought off by one of her women, who was 
devoted to her, suggesting to the boatman, who 
was her lover, that it would be a capital opportunity 
of making money to sell fruit, vegetables, and eggs 
to the French vessel which had just arrived, and 
said she would give him a bouquet for the captain, 
so as to ensure his being well treated on board. It 
: would be dangerous, she said, to send any message 
in return by the same means ; but that on the mole, 
if I landed, I would find a woman selling oranges 
and other fruit, and also nosegays composed 
entirely of red and white flowers. To this woman 
I was to give any letters which I wished to send to 
her, but before I did so I was to ask if she came 
from Teneriffe, and she would answer no ; that she 
was a native of Lanzerote, which were the pass- 
words she had agreed upon. I could easily buy 


The Cruise of the '"Black Prince: 


162 


some flowers from this woman, and in paying her 
give her my letter. Answers would be sent to me 
by the boatman, who would each day have flowers 
or fruit which he would try specially to sell to me ; 
and in the arrangement of these her woman would 
take a part, and insert any letters she wished to 
have conveyed to me. She also said that for the 
next two days she would be unable to leave her 
own apartments, as the doctor said she was unwell, 
and required quiet ; but she assured me that the 
happiness of thinking that I was near her was 
sufficient to cure any illness. After that she 
would appear again in public, and told me of last 
night’s festa, at which she would make a point of 
being present, and suggested that she should en- 
deavour to make her escape then ; and that, as an 
excuse for a large number of our men being present, 
we should request to be allowed, at the service in 
the cathedral, to offer public thanks for our escape 
from capture. 

“ This seemed a very good plan to me, but the 
arrangement of the details would require both care 
and foresight, and I determined on at once going 
on shore to send Juanita a letter, saying that I had 
received her note, and fully agreed with all she said, 
and that as soon as possible I would let her know 
what I had decided upon doing.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


163 


CHAPTER XIV. 

** On the mole I saw many women selling flowers 
and fruit, and as I looked at their baskets all 
pressed forward to sell. I had some difficulty in 
finding the one I was looking for, but at last I 
lighted upon her. It was easy to see, from the way 
in which her wares were arranged, that some one of 
superior taste had had a hand in it, and the red and 
white bouquets were arranged in a circle round 
oranges and other fruits. 

“‘Ah!’ I said, ‘I see you come from Teneriffe. 
I will buy some of your flowers.’ 

“‘No, indeed, senhor. I am from Lanzerote.’ 

“ I took a bunch of flowers, and, giving her a 
doubloon, I at the same time slipped into her hand 
my letter to Donna Juanita. 

“ I was delighted to feel a pressure of her hand, 
and, looking at her carefully, I saw that she was 
one of the girls I had seen constantly in attendance 
on Juanita at Cartagena. 

“ I now made my way to the house where I had 
been with Trevor the day before, and found oiir 


164 The Cruise of the Black Princei 


Irish friends bent on showing their hospitality ; and 
they insisted on us accompanying them to the 
cockpit to see a main fought, the Canary Islands 
being famous for their breed of gamecocks. Here 
we found a number of people assembled, as there 
was a match between the cocks of the priest of one 
of the villages and those of a merchant in the town. 
Officers, monks, priests, sailors, soldiers, and even 
Guanche peasantry (as the original inhabitants of 
the island are termed), were crowded round the pit, 
wagering all they could afford, and often more, on 
the success of the champions struggling in the pit. 

“ I took little interest in the sport, but I could not 
help being struck by the intense devotion to it dis- 
played by all. The wager was to be decided by 
three mains, and in the first the priest’s bird was 
defeated, and great was the joy of the town party. 
In the second the priest proved victorious, and now 
the betting and excitement became intense. For 
some time the struggle seemed doubtful, but at last 
the ecclesiastical champion struck his steel spur 
clean through the brain of his opponent, who 
instantly fell dead. The victor sprang on the 
body of his conquered foe and commenced a crow 
of triumph, but in the midst of it he too fell dead, 
having been mortally wounded just before deliver- 
ing the stroke which gained the victory. The fat 
priest, his owner, did not seem to mind the death 
of the brave bird, but to be much more intent on 


The Cruise of the ‘ Black Princel' 165 


pouching the doubloons and dollars which were 
being paid to him by all round. 

“ After the bets had been settled, the priest, flushed 
by victory and the wine he had been drinking, 
challenged any one present to match another bird 
he had in readiness for fifty doubloons. 

“ A ragged-looking Guanche, wrapped in a dirty 
blanket, stepped forward and announced his readi- 
ness to accept the priest’s offer. He was greeted 
with shouts of laughter and inquiries as to where 
he would find either a cock or fifty pesetas to 
wager. Utterly unmoved by the jeers of the com- 
pany, he produced a dirty rag from under his 
blanket, and counted out the fifty doubloons, and 
asked that the priest would do the same. Notwith- 
standing his winnings, the reverend (?) gentleman 
had to borjwDw from some of his friends to make 
up the amount ; but, as he divided with his late 
antagonist the reputation of being the best trainer 
and breeder of gamecocks on the island, he was 
soon accommodated. 

“Tiie new champions were soon pitted against 
each other, and the boasted bird of the priest 
proved to be the veriest craven, and, after a few 
preliminary spars, turned tail and fled ignominiously. 

“ The Guanche picked up his bird and his money, 
and made his way out, while the priest swore that 
he could only have been defeated by magic, and 
would lay an information at the holy office. 


The Cruise of the Black Princci 


1 66 


“ This broke up the meeting, and I was able to get 
Trevor away from our companions and tell him of 
the news I had received. He said that a lady’s wit 
was worth more than that of a dozen men in enter- 
prises like that we were engaged upon, and he 
would instantly make arrangements for the thanks- 
giving on the occasion of the fete, 

“ I went on board again, and in a couple of hours 
Trevor returned, saying he had seen the clergy of 
the cathedral, and that they thought the propo- 
sition a most proper and laudable one, and that, in 
the service which was to be held, they would make 
arrangements for his presenting his thank-offering. 

“ ‘ Now,” he said, ‘ what d ye think ? I shall 
go, and go into the church with four of the Jersey 
men to make our offering. I will give some mone}% 
and each of the men a big candle, and you with 
some dozen of the rest will come up as a guard of 
honour, and wait for us outside the church door. 
Together we shall be able to keep back any number 
of the Spaniards, if Donna Juanita’s escape is dis- 
covered. I find that there is a special sort of box 
in the gallery round the centre of the church, where 
the ladies of the governor’s family sit. Now, can 
you make her understand that when she sees us 
come into the part in the middle of the church, 
and lay our votive offerings at the feet of the 
bishop on his throne, she must pretend to be taken 
ill again, and get her women to assist her out of 


The Cruise of the Black PruiceV 167 

the church. Then some one of her attendants must 
get into the chair instead of her, and she must 
make her way down to the boat, where you can, on 
some pretext or another, follow her at once. I 
have told the priest I saw that I should like to 
leave immediately our part of the ceremony is per- 
formed, as I believe that the saints will aid me on 
that night in escaping from the heretics who are 
watching for me outside. You bring Donna 
Juanita at once on board, and leave your men to 
keep the mole until I come down, and then we will 
make a push for it. Don’t wait for me if we are 
long. I have been through so many risks, that 
even if Jack Spaniard does catch me. I’ve no doubt 
but I shall weather him in the long run.’ 

“ ‘ No, my good fellow, I will not desert you ; but 
will not the governor discover his niece’s absence 
from the church ? ’ 

‘“Not at all ; he has to support the bishop and 
clergy, and after the first part of the service, during 
which he and all the civil and military officials 
have to stand behind the bishop’s throne, they 
have to join in a procession to the high altar, and 
there receive Mass. No one will be able to speak 
to them or hiip for an hour after I leave.* 

“ ‘ I will write all this to Donna Juanita, and she 
will tell me how far she agrees with our arrange- 
ments.’ 

“ It boots not to tell you all our correspondence, 


1 68 The Cniise of the Black Prince^ 


but it was all arranged as Trevor had proposed ; 
and Juanita wrote that we should pretend to make 
room for her to get into her chair, and that, instead 
of doing so, she would slip through it, and leave 
inside her outer dress, which should cover one 
similar to that of the woman who received my 
letters ; and that two of her women would go down 
to the mole, whilst she went to the cathedral, and 
there be in readiness to accompany her on board. 

“ Trevor, for his four candles, got the largest the 
island afforded, of pure wax, and each was as big 
as a strong man could carry comfortably ; and 
for his own offering, which, in order to make 
the priests listen favourably to his arguments for 
leaving before High Mass had been celebrated, we 
made up to fifteen doubloons, he had a handsome 
cushion worked, on which the money was disposed, 
h'or me and the escort, he procured the ordinary 
wooden candles, about eight feet long, on top of 
wliich were pieces of wax candle eighteen inches 
in length, and he said that for keeping back a crowd 
the wooden parts would make most admirable 
weapons. 

“ All went well except that last night just before 
we landed. O’Connor and two other Irishmen came 
on board suddenly, and came straight down into 
the cabin, where Trevor and I were making our 
final arrangements, and where Sam Moxon was 
speaking to us. 


TJie Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


169 


"No sooner did they hear us speaking English to 
him, than they said, ‘ Here’s some treachery ! ’ and 
tried to get on deck to give the alarm to the boat 
that had brought them off. We managed to pre- • 
vent this, and secured them, and sent the boat to 
the shore, telling its crew that the Irish gentlemen 
would accompany us. We saw that we should have 
to deal promptly with our uninvited guests, so we 
told them that, ‘ as they had come without being 
asked, they could not be permitted to leave with- 
out our permission, and, in the mean time, we were 
under the unpleasant necessity of borrowing their 
clothes for a time.’ 

" In these we rigged up three of our men, and they 
joined in our procession, as if the Irishmen weie 
accompanying us out of friendship. 

" We landed safely, Trevor walking in the 
middle, supported by the four men carrying the 
candles that were to be given to the church, and 
I and the other men marched in a line on either 
side of them, with our candles burning ; whilst in 
front, a priest and half a dozen choristers led the 
way, chanting a Te Deum. At the church doors 
I halted my men and drew on pne side, while 
Trevor and his four went inside. Soon after our 
arrival, the sedan chair of Juanita, borne by eight 
negroes in gorgeous liveries, and followed by 
women and pages arrived; and I could see her 
get out, and that in her hand she carried a red and 


lyo The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


white bouquet, which was the signal that we had 
agreed on that so far all had gone well. 

“ Soon after the governor and all his staff in 
glittering uniforms entered the cathedral, and his 
escort of soldiers filed in after him, so that we were 
left almost alone outside. A few of the peasantry 
and poorer people only were left in the streets, as 
at all the churches Mass was to be celebrated at 
the same moment ; and all the troops, the crews 
of the gunboats, and some of the men from the 
frigate had to be present at one or other of these 
celebrations, which were in honour of the foundation 
of the colony. 

“For some time we waited patiently, and could 
hear the pealing of the organ and the voices of the 
choristers, when suddenly a small door was opened, 
and some ladies came out, supporting one who 
seemed to be fainting. 

“‘Call the Donna Juanita’s chair,’ said one of 
them ; and I instantly ran to where it was standing, 
ordered the slaves to bring it up, and opened the 
door myself and assisted in placing Juanita in it. 

“ She -pressed my hand, and then one of her 
women managed somehow to help her to slip off 
her dress, whilst I and my men kept off those who 
were pressing round. In less time than I can tell 
you she was out of the chair again, leaving this 
woman inside, and I ordered the slaves to carry 
their mistress home. Juanita herself, accompanied 


TJie Cruise of the Black Prince! 


171 


by me and two of my men, now sped away 
towards the mole, which we reached safely ; but as 
T was placing her in the boat, some of the guard 
began to interfere, and one of them recognized her 
and gave the alarm. I drew my sword and kept 
back the men from the boat, and in a few moments, 
though none too soon, I was joined by Trevor and 
the rest of our men. Soldiers and sailors from 
the neighbouring churches were flocking to the 
spot, and we had to ply our wooden candles lustily 
to keep them back whilst we embarked, and at 
last only Trevor and I were left on the quay, when, 
telling our men to shove off and pull, we kept the 
foremost Spaniards off till the boat was twenty 
yards away, and then, springing into the water, 
gained her by swimming. Of what has happened 
since you know as much as I do ; but if O’Connor 
and his friends have not escaped, we must arrange 
some means for sending them back.” 

“ All right, my dear George. But now, when are 
you to be married ? ” 

“Married!” replied Dormer, '‘Why, I never 
thought of it. When we get to some civilized 
place, I suppose.” 

I told him of Black Jack’s capture of the 
padre, at which he laughed very much, and said 
that he would see Donna Juanita about it at once. 

“ She’s ready enough. I’m sure,” I answered ; “ but 
I think first you had better see the padre and get 


1/2 The Cruise of the Black Princel* 

him to consent to perform the ceremony, because 
you can’t be sure of that yet.” 

" Very well. Where is he ? ” 

“ I hardly know ; but we can soon have him up.” 

The prisoner was accordingly brought on the 
poop, and for some time his temper got the better 
of his discretion, for he cjevoted us to all the pains 
and penalties imaginable, and said that we would, 
being under the anathema of the Church, be unfor- 
tunate in all we undertook ; and that when we were 
taken, as it was certain we should be, we would all 
be handed over to the holy office, and burnt for the 
crimes of heresy and sacrilege. 

“ Threatened men live long,” said George. “ Now, 
Senhor Padre, I will make you an offer. You retract 
your curses and marry me to a lady that is on 
board, and you shall receive twenty doubloons.” 

The poor padre, who, to judge from his figure and 
appearance, had never seen such a sum, at first 
said that we were adding to our sin and condem- 
nation by attempting to bribe him ; but, when he 
saw the heavy pieces of gold counted out, began to 
waver, and at last, after a little bargaining, consented 
to do what we wished for twenty-five. “Only,” 
said he, “you must take me with you, for I dare 
never return to Las Palmas again.” 

“Certainly,” said George. “You shall be my 
wife’s private chaplain, if you like.” 

This being settled, George went down to speak 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


r73 


to the Donna Juanita, and I, running close to the 
Saint Pierre^ hailed Trevor to know if he had the 
Irishmen on board. 

“Yes, sir,” he answered ; “and they are as happy 
as possible down below, with a bowl of punch and 
a pack of cards, and say if they had only known 
there had been a lady in the case they would never 
have attempted to spoil sport.” 

“Well, tell them we shall take the first oppor- 
tunity of sending them back ; and as we are far 
enough to windward, we will run to the southward 
until we are in the latitude of Cape St. Mary, and 
then we will haul into the Gambia to refit, as both 
of us need an overhaul after these two actions.” 

The two craft were soon running with the wind 
on their beam, and George, coming up from the 
cabin, where I thought he had been an uncon- 
scionably long time, told me that he had arranged 
for the marriage to take place the next morning. 

Accordingly, the next day Don Sebastian, as the 
padre was called, performed the ceremony at a 
temporary altar erected for that purpose in the 
great cabin. This much pleased the lady, but 
George said even though they were married, he was 
determined to be spliced in a proper seamanlike 
manner, v/henever he came across a properly com- 
missioned Church of England parson. He now 
began to think how he could get back to England 
for the object of his voyage was completed. 


174 Cruise of the Black Prmcel* 


“ I can’t ask you to give up your voyage,” he 
said to me, “and as for the Saint Pierre, though 
she’s a wholesome enough little craft, there is no 
place for a lady on board her.” 

“Trust to your luck, my dear fellow. We may 
find a ship homeward bound at the Gambia, and if 
you put some of your -men and guns on board from 
the Saint Pierre, any ship trading to the African 
coast would be strong enough to beat off any 
enemy’s vessel smaller than a frigate ; and even if 
we don’t find one there, we shall soon after.” 

“Yes, that is very well. You who have been in 
the Guinea trade do not care for fevers and all the 
illnesses that are on the African coast; but to have 
brought my wife away from her family and friends 
to die on board a ship, would be a sorry thing for 
me to think of for the rest of my life.” 

“ Don’t be down-hearted, man. I am sure Mrs. 
Dormer does not think like you. She is as brave as 
she is beautiful, and I’ll warrant that she would 
keep her heart and spirits up even if we had illness 
on board ; but you are sure to be able to get a ship 
home from the Gambia.” 


The Cruise of the ^ Black Princel 


I7S 


CHAPTER XV. 

Having run our latitude down, we beat in toward 
and soon made Cape St. Mary, and then, keeping 
our lead going, we worked into the anchorage, 
where we found no fewer than four ships, three 
being traders, of which two were homeward bound, 
and the fourth his Majesty’s forty-gun frigate 
Thetis. 

VVe brought to these the first news of war 
having been declared between England and 
France, and the captain of the Thetis ^ who was 
under orders for Gibraltar, offered the homeward- 
bound ships a convoy as far as that place, where 
they could fall in with one of the convoys that 
constantly kept passing that place on their way to 
and from the Levant. 

“Now, George,” I said, as we anchored close 
under the stern of the Thetis, “you will have a 
ship to take you home, and a man-of-war of that 
size is sure to have a chaplain on board, and you 
shall be spliced as well as married at once.” 

As soon as our cable was secured and sails 


1^6 The Cruise of the Black Prince!' 

furled, we lowered our boat and pulled on board 
the Thetis^ where, on stepping on the quarter-deck, 
George was welcomed by the Honourable Thomas 
Beaufoy, an old shipmate and companion of his in 
Anson’s celebrated voyage. 

Why, George, old ship, what are you doing 
here ? ” he said. 

“ It’s a long story, but first, have you a chaplain 
on board ? ” 

“ A chaplain ? yes. But what the deuce do you 
want with a chaplain ? ” 

“ I want him to marry me.” 

“ Many you ! What, have you come to the 
Gambia to be married to one of the dusky and 
greasy maidens that we see lading the ships, while 
their lords and masters lie under the trees, smoking 
and gambling.” 

“No nonsense. Come on board the Black Prmce, 
and you shall see my wife.” 

“Your wife. You’ve got a wife, and you want to 
be married again ? Why, you are as bad as the 
Grand Turk or a three-tailed Bashaw.” 

“ Do cease from your raillery. Let me tell you 
how it is I’m only half married.” 

“ Half married ! Half witted, I think. Pray 
sir” — to me — “can you explain what he means?” 

I had been laughing at the play of words, and 
said, “Yes, sir. Strange as it is, all he has said is 
true ; ” and then I explained as shortly as possible 


The Cndse of the Black Prince. 


1/7 


what had happened, and Captain Beaufoy was 
much amused at the story, though he said that he 
hoped for all our sakes that war between Spain 
and England would soon be declared, or else such 
serious complaints would be addressed by the 
Spaniard to the Court of St. James, “that inquiries 
will be made, and somehow or another they may 
find out who you are. You see, the name of yom 
prize, the Saint Pierre^ is known at Las Palmas, 
and that may lead to your identification ; and, 
friend George, you may be sure that Don Luis da 
Sotomayor, Grandee of the first class, and all the 
rest of it, will know that his niece has gone off with 
that *■ heretical English sailor she was so fond of.’ ” 

“ I hope you won’t say anything about it.” 

“ No, but I should advise you to get rid of your 
chasse-mar^e in some way, and that you and your 
bride should, when you get to England, keep 
out of the way till this has blown over, unless war 
is declared with Spain, in which case you will be a 
hero.” 

“Yes, I think I’ll burn the chasse-marie, and 
Hawkins, I’m sure, will take the crew on board, and 
as for such as he does not want and her guns, I can 
let these other ships have.” 

“ All right ; but now I’m dying to see Mrs. .half 
Dormer. How do you call her ? ” 

“ No more nonsense, prithee, Beaufoy. Will you 
send for your parson and tell him of the case ? ” 

N 


178 The Cruise of the Black JB.rincel 


“ Certainly.” 

And the Reverend Simon Jones was sent for 
and told that the next morning he was to go on 
board the Black Prmce to marry two persons. 

He asked whether it would not be better that 
the marriage should take place on board the 
frigate, as her log was an official document and 
would be preserved, and the entry of the perform- 
ance of the ceremony in it would always be a 
proof that the marriage had actually taken place, 
if for any reason such a proof should be required. 

“You have reason, sir,” said George Dormer, 
“ and at ten of the clock, if it will suit, the lady and 
myself will repair on board here.” 

This having been arranged, George Dormer went 
to the larger of the two homeward-bound merchant 
ships, the Indian Queen^ to see if he could engage 
a passage for himself and his wife, at all events, as 
far as Gibraltar, whilst I turned my attention to 
the refitting of the Black Prince^ and soon had ali 
our upper spars on deck, and the temporary fishes 
we had put on the lower masts after our fight with 
the corsair taken off, in order that they might be 
properly and substantially repaired. Tom Merrick 
said, as there was apparently nothing for him to dq 
that he would go on shore to the factory of the 
African Company, and see if there was any chance 
of doing some trade. 

Whilst some of our men turned their attention 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


179 


to our rigging and spars, others under our carpenter 
looked to the hull, and I was sorry to hear that, 
though the patches we had put on the shot-holes 
had so far prevented us from leaking that two 
hours a day at the pump would keep the ship free, 
still the damage was such that it could not be 
properly made good unless the ship were either 
beached or hove down, and that if we met with 
foul weather and laboured heavily while in our 
present condition, it was more than probable that 
we should leak badly. 

With my wounded lower masts, heaving down 
was out of the question, and beaching on the 
Gambia mud would, in my opinion and that of 
McAllister, be certain to be followed by an 
epidemic of fever among the crew. 

This to my mind was almost worse than the 
chance of our meeting with bad weather, and I 
was sorely puzzled to know what to do. In ^e 
evening, Captain Beaufoy came on board to dine, , 
and Donna Juanita, or rather, as I must now call 
her, Mrs. Dormer, did the honours of the table, and 
enchanted him by her beauty, so that he said, if 
he had been fortunate enough to be loved by her ^ 
he would have risked half a dozen wars, and con- 
gratulated George most heartily on being the 
fortunate possessor of so rare and beautiful a 
woman. 

After dinner we left Dormer and his wife alone 


i8o The Cruise of the Black Princel 


and Captain Beaufoy, Merrick, and myself had 
some conversation on the poop, in which I spoke 
about the repairs we required to our hull. 

“Why,” said Captain Beaufoy, “just before 
coming here I looked into Sierra Leone, and 
there are two or three coves most admirably 
adapted for your purpose, where you can beach 
your ship on good sound ground ; and on the 
sides of one there are some large houses, built by 
the marauding gentry at some time or another, 
and which are still in very good repair, where you 
might house your men comfortably ; and the en- 
trance to that cove — ’tis the first after you pass 
the point — is defended by a couple of good block- 
houses, in the which, if you are likely to be some 
time there, you may mount some of your ship’s 
guns, and the settlers always keep a look-out on 
the hills for the approach of any strange sail. You 
can get good water there ; and, though there are 
few supplies immediately in the neighbourhood 
at Porto Lokko, where a large river falls into the 
sea, you will find people who are eager for trade, 
and from whom you can obtain cattle. You can 
.easily send your tender up there while you are 
repairing your own ship, and afterwards you can 
make away with the chasse-marie as you like.” 

“ That certainly is not bad news, and I will get 
down there as soon as possible. But when do 
you sail ? ” 


TJie Cruise of the Black PrinceP 


i8i 


“ I can’t say exactly ; in about two or three 
days. The Indian Queen and the Monarch are 
waiting for some boats to come down from the 
wharves up stream, and I have heard that there 
are some Mandingoes, or some such tribe, coming 
in to-morrow, and they bring down with them a 
considerable amount of gold.” 

Do they ? ” said Merrick. ‘‘ I wonder if they 
will trade with us ? ” 

“You will have to be careful if you do, for the 
people at the factory, through their charter, have 
the right of trade here, and all the three vessels 
now in the river have been consigned to them ; 
but I should not wonder, if you paid them some- 
thing on your trade, you may be permitted to try 
your hand.” 

“ I will have a try, then, to-morrow morning, . 
and see if the factor can be induced to allow me 
to trade here. But meanwhile. Captain Beaufoy, 
can you tell me what sort of a place Sierra 
Leone is ? ” 

“Place.? it’s scarce a place at all. There are 
some forty white men there, and three or four 
times as many mulattoes, and all are engaged in 
the slave-trade, and are not at all averse, if all 
that is said is true, to indulging in a little piracy, 
if a good opportunity offers. Indeed, some of the 
people were companions of Roberts, the pirate, 
when he drove out the African Company’s people 


182 


The Cruise of the Black Prince” 


in 1730, and now there is no really settled head 
of the Europeans there.” 

As he was telling us this, a message was brought 
me that Ralph Trevor was on board, and wished 
to see me. I sent down for him to come up on 
the poop, and when he came he said, “ I beg 
pardon of you and your company, sir, but I have 
come to ask you if it be true as I hear that the 
chasse-mar^e is to be abandoned or destroyed ? ” 

“ Why, how did you hear that ? Certainly we 
have thought of it. Captain Dormer is going 
home in the Indian Queen with his wife, and he 
intends putting some of your guns on board her, 
and then any of the men that chose can come on 
board this ship.” 

“Well, your honour, I know it’s small use at- 
tempting to see Captain Dormer to-night, but I 
want to beg the life of the Saint Pierre^ and I 
can show you, gentlemen, how it would be useful. 
With a craft like that, I could go back to my old 
business of running across the Channel on dark 
nights, and whilst before I carried letters between 
the Jacobites at home and abroad, now I can bring 
news for the English Government from the Con- 
tinent, and I shall never be suspected by the 
Frenchmen. I know every smuggler from the 
Start to the North Foreland — ay, and up to 
Gravesend and to Harwich, if need be. The only 
thing is, that I must not be suspected by them.” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 183 


“ What ! Do you want to get back to your old 
haunts ? ” 

“ Not so, sir. But the chasse-marie is well fitted 
for a run across the Channel, and out here she is 
not the most comfortable of vessels, nor can she 
carry a cargo across to the Indies. She would 
reach Antigua or Jamaica safely enough, but she 
can only carry water for her own crew for a long 
voyage.” 

" Well, there is truth in what you say. What is 
your idea ? ” 

“Why, sir, let me run home with a cargo for 
Captain Dormer’s uncle, the city knight, and he is 
at one end of the continental trade, and I know 
who are at the other, and there shall nothing happen 
in France that he shan’t have knowledge of.” 

“Well, to settle this I must see Captain Dormer, 
and Mr. Merrick will have to provide you with a 
cargo. I will think over the matter, but I had 
trusted to fill up my vacancies from your men. 
There were eight men lost in the action with the 
Golden Lion, and there are some ten wounded and 
sick, whom I am going to take this opportunity 
of sending home, as the surgeon do not think that 
they are likely to recover for a long time.” 

“ I don’t want many hands, sir. If you give 
me a paper, I can pass for a Frenchman or an 
Englishman, as I like, and shan’t have any fight- 
ing. Ten hands will be enough for me.” 


184 The Cntise of the Black Prince I' 


“ That will do. I will see what we can do for 
you.” 

“ Thank you, sir ; and you will find some day 
that Ralph Trevor can be grateful, if you trust 
him.” And then he bade us “Good night.” 

“ Who is that } He makes a pretty good request, 
to be given a vessel and a cargo which there is 
nothing to prevent him running into a French port 
and selling.” 

“ Yes, and though our first meeting was owing 
to his being a highwayman, and my friend Tom 
Merrick and myself have been in prison on his 
account, I do not know a man who I would sooner 
trust.” 

“ A highwayman ? Why, just now, which was 
daring before me, he said, or as good as said, he 
was a smuggler.” 

“Well, he has been that too, but he is a Jaco- 
bite, and Dormer, who has seen much more of him 
on board the chasse- 7 naree^ is very fond of him, 
and declares him to be a thorough gentleman, 
and if it is only a question of his purse-strings, we 
shall soon see Trevor have all he now asks for.” 

“ Well, it’s a curious thing. Here he is, a Jacobite, 
and he has those Irish gentlemen aboard, mayn’t 
they conspire with the French part of his crew.” 

“ No, there’s no danger of that. I will send foi 
Dormer, and ask him what he wants to arrange for 
to-morrow, and also to tell him of Trevor’s request.’* 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince. 


185 


When George came up, he said that Donna — 
no ; I mean Mrs. Dormer would go on board the 
Thetis next morning at ten o’clock, and he hoped 
I would accompany her, and take upon myself the 
duty of giving her away, whilst Merrick could be 
his groomsman, and the women attendants of the 
lady could act as bridesmaids. As for the Saint 
Pierre, he said he didn’t care much, but he would 
do anything to give Trevor pleasure, and that he 
was certain that he would hold to his plighted 
word. 

Next morning we all went on board the Thetis, 
and the marriage was duly solemnized ; and after 
the due entries had been made in the log-book, 
there was an entertainment on board the Black 
Prince, to which Captain Beaufoy, his chaplain, 
and officers were asked, and also the captains 
of the other ships present, and Dormer and his 
wife insisted upon Trevor sitting down with us, 
which at first he was loth to do. 

After the more solid portion of our fare hao 
been disposed of, we pledged the bride and bride- 
groom in brimming beakers, and wished them 
happiness, long life, and prosperity. George Dormer 
thanked us all, and said that, as he had gained his 
bride in the commencement of the voyage he 
hoped that before the end I should be joined to 
one whom he would not name, and wound up 
my saying that he, as a token of the appreciation 


1 86 The Cruise of the Black Prince!' 


he had for the services Trevor had rendered him, 
gave him the Saint Pierre to do what he wished 
with ; and to the men of the Black Prince he gave 
up all his share of prize-money, and a thousand 
guineas to be divided as they themselves should 
arrange. 

“ Faith ! ” said Captain Beaufoy. “ George, you 
were always something of a magnifico, but you 
seem inclined to out-do every one in generosity.” 

The entertainment after this broke up, and we 
carried on our refit aloft with all diligence, whilst 
Merrick and I made arrangements with the factor 
of the African Company to buy a cargo for the 
Saint Pierre y and also, as ^me of our stuffs happened 
to be in much demand, and of a kind of which 
there were none in his stores, we were able to buy 
a good quantity of gold from some black Moors 
who came from a distance in the interior, mounted 
on shaggy little ponies, and accompanied by a 
number of slaves. 

In three days all the arrangements were made, 
and the Thetis^ accompanied by the Mo7iarch and 
Indian Queen^ sailed for Gibraltar, Dormer and 
his bride being cheered to the echo as they were 
seen standing on the poop of the last, as she 
passed us on her way out. Trevor said he would 
not leave at the same time, but would rather accom- 
pany us to Sierra Leone, where he might prove of 
use, and thence make his voyage to England alone. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince' 


187 


CHAPTER XVI. 

Our own passage to Sierra Leone was quick and 
uneventful, and on arriving there, we found the 
cove that Captain Beaufoy had told us of was 
admirably adapted for the purpose of beaching 
the ship. After we had communicated with the 
settlers, and obtained their permission to repair 
our ship, we hauled into it and cleared our 
holds out, putting our goods and stores into the 
sheds on shore, which, I was happy to find, were 
protected by a stout barricade, as the Europeans 
I found at the town certainly did not by their 
appearance belie the description I had received of 
them, and I made careful arrangements to prevent 
any surprises by night, and gave charge of our 
guards to Merrick, whilst Trevor anchored the 
Saint Pierre at the entrance to the cove, so as 
to keep a watch against any attempts from that 
side. 

But while taking every precaution against the 
predatory instincts of the Sierra Leonites, we found 
it necessary to be on the best of terms with them, 


The Cruise of the ** Black Prince: 


1 88 


as they had among their numbers some skilled 
shipwrights, who were willing to come and work 
at the repairs of the Black Prince^ and we also 
were able to obtain about a hundred slaves in 
v^ery good condition for a most moderate price. 

The principal man in the place, who had been 
elected to the headship over them by his fellows, was 
an old weather-beaten Scot, of whose antecedents 
nothing was certainly known before he arrived 
there some twelve years previously, in a small boat 
with two negroes, who with himself, he said, were 
the sole survivors of the crew and cargo of a slaver 
which he had commanded, and which had been 
capsized in a tornado, and foundered in a few 
moments. 

He soon showed himself able to use both hands 
and head, and had now a large amount of property, 
and had built himself some small schooners, in 
which he used to collect slaves to fill his barracoons, 
and two years before our arrival had been 
unanimously declared by his fellows the most fit 
and proper man to rule over them. McCullum, 
as he called himself, referred many disputes to 
the duello, and in consequence, as he never, when 
once he had given an order for an engagement to 
take place, permitted the encounter to be evaded, 
there was more semblance of order among his 
subjects than in many a civilized town. The 
mulattoes, however, were tyrannized over by the 


The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 189 


whites, and they in their turn exercised every kind 
of cruelty over those of the blacks who were un- 
fortunate enough to fall into their hands. 

I had to see McCullum constantly, as I had 
employed many of his men whom he had taught 
shipbuilding, and one day he told me he would 
show me his barracoons. 

“ Why,” I said, “ I see them every day when I 
come to your house.” 

“ Hoot, mon, dinna ye ken that whiles we hae 
the deils o’ neagurs roun’ us as thick as bummle- 
bees, an’ nae pairson could live there, na, na, mon, 
we maun mak tent to save our chattels ; ” and he 
took me down into large cellars dug out in the hill, 
where he assured me he could, if necessity arose 
stow away three thousand slaves, and these and 
some other similar ones were now considered the 
property of the community, and ^ it was to protect 
them that the forts which I saw in progress were 
being built. 

I asked him if there was now much difficulty 
with the natives round about, and he said that 
since his councils had prevailed they had become 
friendly enough, but, with a grim smile, he said, I 
had to be unco’ shairp wie the feckless creaturs.” 
And some time after, as I was strolling round 
the settlement, I found that he had been indeed 
“ unco’ shairp,” for I suddenly came upon a sort of 
cleared line in the bush, and hanging on a tree I saw 


I go The Cruise of the Black Prince I* ‘ 


the remains of a native’s corpse, and, looking along 
to the right and left, I saw that, as far as I could 
see, at every ten or fifteen yards there was a man 
hanging. I was afterwards told that a raid of the 
natives, soon after McCullum had assumed the 
reins of government, had been nearly successful, 
and the Europeans were so closely surrounded in 
what was then their fort that, being able to obtain 
no supplies they were about to surrender through 
famine, when McCullum proposed the following 
desperate stratagem, which was completely success- 
ful : they threw open their gates and allowed the 
natives to enter, but when about two hundred were 
inside the gates were closed, and those that had 
pressed forward, in the hope of booty and plunder, 
found themselves in a trap, and were all slaughtered 
or made prisoners. Some of the prisoners were 
chiefs, and were held as hostages, whilst agreements 
were made with the rest of the besiegers to retire. 

After the siege was raised, the prisoners were 
forced to cut this line, and then, except those whose 
lives had been promised, they were hung along it, 
and a message sent to their countrymen to say 
that any of them that crossed it without permission 
would be added to the number of those hanging 
there, and that a great fetish had been made to 
prevent their ever being successful if they came 
across in numbers. Since that time every native 
who had been discovered inside the line without 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


191 


permission had been summarily hung, and the 
trade in slaves, which was the only one the inhabit- 
ants of Sierra Leone engaged in in those days, was 
carried on without interruption. 

Our repairs were pushed on with all despatch, 
and on the seventh day after we had beached, we 
were able to haul off the Black Prince to our 
anchors, for which I was not at all sorry, as several 
of my crew had began to show symptoms of fever, 
and I was afraid of losing many of them if they 
had to continue sleeping on shore. 

We at once commenced to embark our cargo, 
and . by sunset had a considerable portion on board, 
so that I had to divide the crew, leaving some men 
on shore to watch the goods there under Tom 
Merrick, and taking some on board to watch the 
ship. 

At two bells in the middle watch I was awoke 
by a rattle of musketry from the Saint Pierre and 
the blockhouses, and, calling the men to arms, I ran 
on deck, to find that we were assailed by about 
forty canoes of “Timanis,” or “Timmis,” who came 
on yelling and screaming, and tried to carry the 
ship by boarding. As in the darkness it was hard 
to distinguish foe from friend, I lighted the fires 
under two pitch-kettles, in which was pitch and tar 
with which we intended in the morning to black 
the bends. 

I could soon see that the object of our assailants 


192 The Cruise of the Black Princer 

was more plunder than slaughter, and although 
they cut some of the rigging, we were able to drive 
them out of the ship after half an hour’s or more 
hard fighting ; but, though we had been opposing 
them by force all this time, some had managed 
to get below and open bales of goods, and these 
fellows we had to hunt up from all the holes and 
corners, and some we secured, but others tried to 
jump overboard with their plunder. The pitch and 
tar, by this being hot, we found most effective in 
dislodging these fellows from some of the nooks 
and crannies in which they bestowed themselves, 
and whence a man could not haul them out with- 
out danger of being wounded, whereas a few drops 
of hot tar or pitch was as effectual in bolting them 
as ever a terrier was in bolting a fox. 

Among our prisoners was the brother of the 
Chief of Porto Lokko, and him we took in the 
morning before McCullum to see what we should 
do with him. 

On shore Merrick had been as successful or 
more so than we were ; for, aroused by the firing 
from the Saint Pierre^ he had been able to man 
his palisades before any of the black thieves were 
able to gain an entrance, and he kept them all, with 
the exception of two, who were killed immediately 
they got inside, from scaling his defences. It was 
to Trevor, however, that the real credit of the 
repulse of our assailants was due, for he was him- 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


193 


self on deck seeing that a vigilant look-out was 
kept, as before sunset he had noticed a lot of canoes 
coming down from the Rokelle, and as they did not 
come right down to the settlement, nor yet steer 
for the Bissagos or Isles do Los, he suspected that 
they meant some treachery, but as all the Black 
Prince's men had had a heavy day’s work, he did 
not think it well to hinder them from their rest by 
making his suspicions known. 

We found McCullum holding a court or council 
when we came into his house. He himself was seated 
on a chair on the end of the room, with a small 
table before him, on which were pipes and tumblers ; 
and his colleagues were mostly similarly accom- 
modated, whilst in the middle of the room a cask 
of rum had been set abroach. 

“ Eh 1 sairs,” said McCullum as we entered, 
“talkin’ is unco’ drouthy work. See just tak a 
tumbler of toddy, and then we will speir intil the 
saircumstances of the past nicht.” 

We soon found places, and little negro boys 
brought us pipes, rum, water, and limes, and when 
we had prepared our refreshment we were allowed 
to speak. 

I briefly narrated what had occurred, and asked 
that the chief might be made to pay for his 
treacherous attempt on us. 

McCullum and his counsellors, after much rum 
and discussion, imposed a fine on the chief of ^ 

O 


194 The Cruise of the **Black Princei 


hundred slaves for us, and two hundred for his 
having attacked a friend of the settlement, and 
which were to be divided among McCullum and 
his friends. Our hundred slaves, McCullum said, 
we should have to wait long for, so he said he 
would give us fifty at once for them. 

I felt inclined to dispute this monstrous offer, 
but both McAllister and Merrick urged me to 
accept it, as we should be sure to have serious 
illness among our crew if we remained ; so I told 
the old sinner that I hoped he would send the 
slaves on board the next day, as I wished to sail 
as soon as possible. 

“ Dinna fast, young mon. I dinna care to feed 
another body’s cattle, but ye are a decent lad, and 
I will e’en gie ye some news. I hae received 
information that there’s a muckle French slaver off 
Cape Mount, and she has a wheen blacks aboard. 
Gin ye could find him, ye need no pay for a cargo. 
He was ower muckle for my wee boaties to tackle, 
and sae I will just present him to you, and I’ll tak 
tent he no hears that ye are looking for him.’* 

I thanked McCullum for this information ; but 
he said, “ I hae been pondering on how muckle ye 
should pay for your information, and hae concluded 
that twenty-five slaves is a fair price ; and, sae that 
shall be nae ill-feelin’ between the twa of us I will 
send ye the quarter of a hoondred the morn.” 

I saw it was no use making any resistance to 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


195 


his extortion, and accepted this, but determined 
I would if I could serve him a trick in the pay- 
ment for the repairs. 

We restowed our holds, and now, having to 
arrange our ’tween decks for the reception of the 
slaves v/e were to receive, and that we hoped to 
capture, we had to do so with great care. 

Early in the morning we bent sails and hauled 
out into the fairway, ready to go to sea as soon as 
the sea-breeze made, and looked out anxiously for 
the slaves that McCullum had promised to send us ; 
but instead of the slaves, we saw the old man 
coming off himself, and when he got on board he 
said, “ Eh 1 my braw lad, ye ha’ no sent the siller 
to pay for my carpenters.” 

** Why,’* I replied, “ I have it all ready for you, 
and intended to send it by the boats that brought 
the slaves on board.” 

“Na, mon, ye will na pay Andrew McCullum wi’ 
the fore-taupsle. Ye can gie me the siller, an’ I will 
ha’ the slaves aboard of ye immediately.” 

I asked him down in the cabin and paid him the 
money, and then leaving Merrick to entertain him 
with Jamaica rum and Virginia tobacco, I went on 
deck and shortened in cable, and loosed sails, 
sheeting the top-sails home, but leaving them on 
the caps to wait for the slaves. 

All being ready, and the sea-breeze commencing 
to blow, and no signs of the slaves to be seen, I 


196 The Cruise of the ** Black Prince! 


went to McCullum and said, “Now, sir, I must be 
off.” 

“ Aweel, sir, but I’m sair fashed the slaves ha’ na 
come aboard yet. Gin ye can wait a couple of hours, 
I will ga ashore an’ mak’ them bustle.” 

“ Oh no, never mind now ; I think you will do 
as well. You can act as pilot for us down to Cape 
Mount. I dare say if you want any clothes we can 
manage to supply you on board.” 

“ Hoot awa, my birkie ; ye dinna mean to say 
ye’d carry Sandy McCullum away from Sierra 
Leone ? ” 

“ I do, indeed, unless we have those twenty-five 
slaves in half an hour, or you return the money 
I have paid you for your shipwrights’ work.” 

“ Na, na, ye will na carry me off. I’ll no credit 
it ; and gin there were other ships ye could na 
do it.” 

“Well, Mr. McCullum, I have no wish to take 
you away, but you said I should hav^e twenty-five 
slaves to-day, and they have not come. 1 must have 
them or the money.” 

“ Siller is siller, and I will na gie ye a bawbee ? ” 

“Very well, I see you intend to try and rob me ; 
I will give you half an hour to consider, and then 
if you do not pay me the price of the slaves I shall 
get under way.” 

“ Aweel, aweel, I will send a bit letter ashorCj 
and ye shall have the slaves in ae hour.” 


The Cruise of the "'Black Prince^ 


197 


McCullum, much to his disgust wrote the note, 
and gave it to his boatmen to take ashore, and 
then applied himself to the rum bottle with renewed 
vigour. Trevor, who was on board to bid me 
good-bye, told me I had better beware, or instead 
of slaves, the traders might send off some men to 
try and cany the ship. And though I did not 
believe they would be bold enough to do this, I 
thought it as well to take precautions, and had all 
the boarding nettings triced up, and the great guns 
and small arms loaded. 

As the hour wore away, and I could see no boat 
coming, I was thinking that McCullum’s friends 
ashore would not send the slaves ; but just before it 
was up I saw two large boats coming off under 
sail. 

Trevor said, “ I am sure there are more than 
the slaves there ; one of those boats could carry 
eighty or a hundred. I will say good-bye to you 
and Mr. Merrick, and get the Saint Pierre under 
way ; I shall be able to help you then ; and mind 
you do not let more than a few men on board, and 
that those they say are slaves have passed down 
below at once. Now I will thank you for having 
given me a chance to become an honest man again, 
and when you return to England with your bride 
— as I hope you will — I trust that you will find 
me in the position I once held.” 

“ Many thanks for your good wishes — you have 


198 The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


mine ; ’’ ana wringing Merrick’s and my hands, 
Trevor left us for the Saint Pierre^ amid the cheers 
of our men, with whom he was an universal 
favourite. 

I now sent down to McCullum, and asked him 
to come on deck, as the boats were close to ; and 
when he came up on the poop and saw our board- 
ing nettings triced up, asked if we were afraid of 
another attack from the natives. I said no, but 
that his dealings with us had not been fair and 
above board, and that I thought it was as well to 
take precautions against any surprise ; and ‘ ‘ Now,” 
said I, “ you will just tell those boats to put all the 
slaves into one of them, and pull her alongside, as 
if they both attempt to run alongside at once, I 
will fire into them.” 

“Ye’re a canny lad,” said McCullum, '' and I will 
na’ deny that I had some thoughts that your ship 
wad prove advantageous to the colony, but I will 
e’en do as you wish.” 

The boats, on his hailing them, lowered their 
sails, and it proved that Trevor’s suspicions were 
correct, as there were no slaves in them, but they 
were crowded with armed men. 

I said to McCullum that he deserved to be 
chucked overboard, but that, as he had been of 
assistance to us, I would give him the opportunity 
of repaying us the money I had given him, and 
then would let one of his boats come alongside to 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


199 


take him away, but not one of his men would I 
permit to put his foot on our decks. 

“Aweel, aweel, I must e’en do as ye wish ; but gin 
ye ha’ the bawbees ye can gie me a keg of rum, 
and a wheen tobacco.” 

I could not help laughing, and as soon as he 
had paid over the money I allowed the boat along- 
side, and passed the rum and tobacco down into 
her, and told McCullum he could follow as soon as 
he wished. 

The old fellow, who was pretty well in his cups, 
said, “ I will e’en say farewell, and next time ye come 
to Sierra Leone, I will hae some braw niggers for 
ye, for ye’re a douce lad.” 

Merrick and I both laughed, and said good-bye 
to him; and then giving the orders to masthead 
the topsails and weigh the anchor, we were soon 
following the Saint Pierre out to sea. 

As soon as we had made an offing, I kept away 
to the southward, and giving the St. Anne shoals a 
wide berth, I shaped my course for Cape Mount, 
and soon lost sight of our consort 


200 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


CHAPTER XVII. 

We made Cape Mount early one morning, and 
saw there a large ship lying at anchor, and on 
our hoisting French colours she did the same, and 
we were able to approach close to her without 
exciting any suspicion. When we were within fifty 
yards, I triced up my ports and ran my guns out, 
hoisted the English colours, and hailed her to 
strike. 

Putting my helm down, I shot the Black Prince 
alongside the stranger, and whilst some of our men 
lashed our fore to her main rigging, the rest poured 
on board, and in almost less time than it takes to 
relate we had driven the French crew, who were 
utterly taken by surprise, down below, and we found 
ourselves in possession of the French ship Foudre^ 
of four hundred and fifty tons, and fourteen guns, 
with a cargo of slaves on board, they having only 
completed shipping them that morning. 

On securing the crew, I found that the captain 
and a portion of the crew were on shore, or, as the 
mate (Guillaume Perroquet) took care to inform us, 


TJte Cruise of the Black Princei 


201 


we should have had more difficulty in making her 
our own. He had no knowledge of the war between 
England and France, and wept copiously over his 
ill luck. I did not wait for many explanations * 
from him, but bundled him and his men into their 
boats, and giving Trenal charge of the prize, I had 
the two ships under way and standing away from 
the anchorage within half an hour of our boarding 
the Frenchman, and we had been fortunate enough 
in this brief affair not to have had a single man 
hurt. 

“Well, Tom,” I said to Merrick, “this prize 
makes up for our barren victory over the Algerine ; 
but now I wonder if the Frenchman has sufficient 
water and provisions to make the passage to the 
West Indies, because if she has I think we had 
better let her make at once for Antigua, where, 
when we have filled up with slaves, we will follow 
her ; but I think first we had better anchor some 
way down the coast and thoroughly overhaul her 
and her cargo.” 

“ Certainly,” said Tom. “ I wonder at the French- 
men being so careless. From what you have told me 
of the Guinea trade, as well as what I have heard 
from others, I should have thought no ship would 
have allowed another to approach her without 
being prepared for action.” 

“ Why, yes ; but you see the French are never so 
careful as we are, and we may put down tliis 


202 The Cruise of the ‘ ‘ Black Prince. 

capture more to our good fortune than to good 
management. The men must be pleased with this 
ship and the Saint Pierre , as well as Dormer’s 
present to them ; they have made more than they 
would in three or four ordinary voyages.” 

The next place off which we anchored was Grand 
Cess, and here, on examining our prize carefully, 
we found that she had three hundred and seventy 
slaves on board, and Trenal, who had overhauled 
her cargo and papers, was able to tell us that there 
was much of her trade goods still on board, as she 
had not paid the dealers on shore for her slaves, 
but that she was short both of water and provisions. 

At Grand Cess we got a few good slaves, and 
from there made our way along the coast, meeting 
a few Bristol men, to whom we gave notice of the 
war, and at last anchored off Behin, in Apollonia, 
where there was an English fort, and where the 
Chief Quacco Blay had a large number of slaves 
for sale. 

Before we could deal with the chief, however, we 
had to take what slaves the English factor had in 
the fort, and then to pay him ten per cent, commis- 
sion on all our dealings with the chief. But even 
with this drawback the price of slaves was so re- 
duced by the fear that the war with France would 
interfere with the trade, that we were able to drive 
a most profitable bargain. 

The factor in charge of the fort, James Collins, 


The Cruise of the Black Prince T 203 



as soon as we anchored sent off his surf-boat to ask 
the captains and super-cargoes of the ships to come 
ashore and take up our quarters with him ; and 
when Merrick and I landed, in compliance with his 
invitation, lodged us in large and airy rooms in a 
house built on the top of the fort, where he and his 
two assistants lived with their native wives and 
families in country fashion. Native clerks and 
.servants, sufficient to man the guns under the 
direction of ten English soldiers, had quarters 
in. the fort, but they had also houses for their 
families outside. One could not but be astonished 
at the amount of comfort that the factor had 
managed to secure around him, and at the good 
table that he kept. 

I had found from Trenal before coming on shore 
that he could still manage to put some forty more 
slaves on board the Foudre, and after paying for 
these, there was still a considerable amount of 
valuable cargo left on board her, which we disposed 
of for other slaves for the Black Prince, and had in 
this way the good fortune to secure more than 
half her number before we touched our own stores. 

Amongst the articles on board the Foudre were 
several cases of choice liquors, wines, and preserved 
provisions, which Mr. Collins was glad to secure for 
his own use, and for which he paid us well in gold- 
dust and ivory. A few, however, I reserved for a 
present for King Blay, who, as one of the principal 


2o4 The Cruise of the Blach PriuceT 


chiefs in this part of Africa, required a heavy dash 
before he would consent to open business, and his 
secretaries and other hangers-on had also to be 
gratified according to their position and influence. 

With Mr. Collins our business was easily con- 
cluded, but that with the chief was more tedious, 
as first we had to have several palavers as to our 
terms, and then the slayes he proposed to supply 
us with had to be collected in lots varying from 
two or three or a dozen from the different villages 
under his rule. 

The first day after our arrival the king sent his 
messengers to say that he hoped the next day to 
come and pay us a visit ; and sent me a present 
of a bullock, six goats, twenty-four fowls, and ten 
ducks, and a quantity of yams and sweet pota- 
toes. In return, I sent him six gallons of rum, 
four demijohns of Geneva, and a case of cordial 
waters. 

In the morning Mr. Collins had the biggest room 
in the fort prepared for his reception, and all the 
garrison of the fort dressed in their best, while 
Merrick and I had ten of our finest seamen, headed 
by Jago and Cundy, on shore to support our dig- 
*'*ty, armed with fusils and cutlasses. 

At ten o’clock a messenger arrived to say that 
the king was coming, and Mr. Collins, according 
to the etiquette on these occasions, closed the gates, 
and sent all the men to their stations on the walls 


The Crtiise of the Black Princel 


205 


as if we were preparing to resist the attack of an 
enemy rather than to welcome a friend. 

We could hear the sound of drums and native 
music, and soon, from the fence surrounding the 
chiefs houses, we saw the procession coming 
towards us. At the head marched men beating 
drums, round which were hung the skulls of enemies 
slain in battle ; and following them, two and two, 
were forty men armed with muskets, who formed 
part of King (or more properly Ehin) Blay’s body- 
guard. Next came six men bearing six fantastically 
shaped swords of state, the handles of which were 
overlaid with thin plates of gold, sewn together with 
thin gold-wire. 

After these came a huge red umbrella, on the top 
of which was Blay’s crest of an elephant, and under- 
neath this, dressed in crimson and yellow silk, with 
his wrists and ankles encircled with heavy rings of 
gold, marched an old grey-headed negro, carrying 
the sacred cow-tail, emblem of Ehin Blay’s royalty, 
and to obtain or retain possession of which many 
bloody wars had been waged. 

Next, under a silken canopy, came the monarch 
himself, borne on the shoulders of eight sturdy 
negroes in a finely worked basket, about six feet 
long by two wide, and lined with various coloured 
silks. King Blay, as he reclined on the cushions 
with which the basket was filled, was dressed in a 
scarlet gold-laced coat and waistcoat, and on his 


206 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


head, which was wrapped round with an old ban- 
dana, was a three-cornered hat, elaborately decorated 
with gold lace and feathers, whilst his legs and the 
lower part of his body were covered with a hand- 
some leopard-skin, the edges of which were fringed 
with golden bells. 

On either side walked his councillors and favourite 
wives, who kept calling out his titles, or strong 
names. Behind the cradle of the king came some 
fetish-men, covered with grigris and charms, and 
then some more musketeers, and the procession 
was closed by a number of men armed with spears 
and shields, followed by another body of drummers. 

I remarked to Mr. Collins that Ehin Blay seemed 
to hold great state. He replied that it was indeed 
so, and that he was willing to pay anything for 
whatever he considered added to his dignity. 
“ Now, you see his procession ; in a few minutes 
you will see those of his head men, and these 
fellows will be walking, though they will have their 
hammocks or litters with them, but they only dare 
have four carriers, and must not be carried when 
in attendance on the ehin.’* 

I looked with great interest at this procession, 
and admired the order and regularity with which 
these fellows marched and wheeled, as they formed 
into double line outside the gates, and let the men 
carrying the chief approach. 

As he came near, Mr. Collins inquired who he 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


207 


was and what he wanted, and the answer was, 
“ Quacco Blay Ehin, and he comes to pay a friendly 
visit.” 

On this the gates were thrown open, and a salvo 
fired from the guns of the fort, and Ehin Blay, 
descending from his basket, entered the fort, 
accompanied by his treasurer (otofosanfo), his 
mouth or interpreter (okyami), and his obofo, or 
messenger, as well as by his sword-bearers, the 
bearer of the cowtail and fetish-men, and half a 
dozen boys carrying fly-flappers. Four of his 
wives also accompanied him, and, being received 
by us at the gate, the whole party was conducted 
to a sort of gallery above the gate, to wait for the 
arrival of his head men. The next to appear was 
the sopahin, or captain of war, and then there came 
five panins, or chiefs of villages. All these were 
accompanied by retinues similar to those of King 
Blay, only smaller in number and not so gorgeously 
caparisoned ; and each, as he arrived, came and 
paid his respects to the king. 

As soon as they were all assembled, we adjourned 
to the large hall, where, on a raised dais, were large 
armchairs covered with red velvet, for the Ehin, 
Mr. Collins, Tom Merrick, and myself— the chiefs, 
and Mr. Collins’ writers, and the head men being 
accommodated with ordinary chairs on a step to the 
dais, whilst the rest of the assembly had to be 
content with stools on the floor. 


2o8 The Cruise of the '‘‘Black Princel 


As soon as we were all seated, all the natives 
began reciting King Blay’s strong names or titles 
as loudly as they could bawl, and he answered 
mechanically at intervals, “ Quacco Blay ! atinasu 
marrah ” (Quacco Blay, here I am). After this had 
gone on for about a quarter of an hour, Mr. Collins 
clapped his hands, and some of his servants handed 
round liquors to all the assembly, but carefully 
discriminated the quality of the drink according to 
the rank of the recipient. When the drinking was 
finished, without which no African business can be 
conducted, Mr. Collins formally introduced me and 
Tom Merrick to his Majesty, and we made him 
a present, which we had prepared for this occasion, 
consisting of two large red velvet umbrellas, a 
plush coat guarded with silver lace, and half a dozen 
pieces of flowered silk. 

This was taken charge of by some of Ehin Blay’s 
attendants, and then the treasurer presented me 
with a bag of gold dust, containing two peregrains 
and two small nuggets, the latter being a mark of 
especial favour, while Merrick received a smaller 
bag of gold dust holding twenty ackies. The 
presentation of the presents and the consequent 
thanks having been concluded, more drink was 
handed round, and the meeting broke up for the 
day, it not being etiquette to transact any business 
at these ceremonial visits. 

As the processions left the fort another salvo 


The Cruise of the Black Prince I 


209 


was fired, and we had the place to ourself for some 
time, but about four o’clock the obofo came to the 
fort to say that Ehin Blay requested us to pay him 
a return visit the next day, and brought, as a 
token of his office, a large stick or cane surmounted 
by the king’s badge of an elephant with a sword 
in his trunk. We, of course, accepted the invitation, 
and then the obofo said that Ehin Blay would 
come privately to see us that evening and have 
supper with us. 


210 


The Cniise of the Black Prince: 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Accordingly, at a little before sunset, Ehin Blay 
arrived on foot, accompanied only by the okyami 
and obofo, and two boys with fly-flappers. The 
ehin alone joined us at the table, his retainers 
sitting on stools a little behind him, and to them 
he kept on handing morsels from his plate, or 
giving them his glass to drink out of. After 
supper was over, the chief told us that, besides 
gold, he had a good amount of ivory to sell, and 
that he had heard of the presence of elephants, 
which, in the time of his grandfather, used to be 
very plentiful at a short distance, away on the 
Bousaha river, near a village called Niba, and that 
the next day he was going with his fetish-men to 
make komfo or magic for a party of his warriors, 
whom he was going to send in chase of them. 

“ Faith, Bob,’* said Tom Merrick to me, “ I have 
never seen an elephant ; why should we not go 
with these fellows } We must be here over a week, 
and after our luck with the Foudre^ the partners 
will never complain if we do delay a day or two.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel" 21 1 

Mr. Collins said, “ I have been here on the Gold 
Coast for a matter of fifteen years, man and boy, 
and though I have strolled out at times with a 
birding-piece, I have never joined the blacks in 
their hunts after elephants, leopards, or other wild 
beasts, nor can I say that I have ever heard of any 
other Europeans doing the like, not even the 
Hollanders, though they have forts and factories 
for a long distance up the Ancobra river.” 

Well,” I said, “when I was in the East Indies 
I saw many elephants, but I have never seen any 
in their native wilds, and I should much like to 
make a short trip away from the coast.” 

I asked the okyami to inquire of the king if he 
would allow us to accompany his hunters, and see 
them slay the elephants. 

The answer from his Majesty, who was by this 
time getting pretty well fuddled, was that he could 
give no answer until he had stirred his komfo on 
the following morning. 

With this answer we had to be content, and the 
royal party shortly took their departure, Ehin 
Blay’s basket being in waiting for him at the fort 
gates ; and it was well that it was so, for his legs 
were so affected by his potations that they certainly 
would not have carried him unaided to his palace. 

I own I felt that the drink I had imbibed 
had made some innovation in my brains, and I was 
only too glad to be able to make an excuse of 


212 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


being obliged to go on board the next morning 
to look up a fresh present for the king, and, there- 
fore, wishing to retire to bed at once. 

Mr. Collins stoutly stood out against Merrick 
and me leaving him, swearing that the night was 
yet young, and that the real way to avoid African 
fevers was to take plenty of sound liquor. If 
practice proves faith he certainly was a believer 
in his maxim, for long after Tom and I were in our 
beds we could hear snatches of songs and shouts 
and toasts in the dining-hall. 

In the morning at daylight we rose, and could 
find no one stirring for some time ; but at last we 
roused out one of the native clerks, who was just 
going to muster the slaves, and he ordered a surf- 
boat to be manned to take us on board, which, as 
the beach was good, was fortunately not a dangerous 
undertaking, though I could see that getting water 
on board would be both difficult. and tedious, as 
the only way in which it could be done would be 
by anchoring a boat outside the surf and veering 
the empty casks ashore, and hauling them off when 
filled. 

Trenal, we found, had made good headway with 
preparing for the reception of the slaves, and also 
in arranging the great cabin of the Black Prince 
as a trade-room. To select a present which we 
thought would please Ehin Blay after his display 
of the day before, we found more difficult than we 


TJie Cruise of the Black Princei 


213 


had expected ; but, fortunately, on board the 
Foudre we found some large crates of glass and 
china ware, consisting of vases, candelabra, and a 
quantity of plates and dishes. Of these we made 
a selection, and added to them some large pewter 
flagons, which were polished up as bright as 
silver. 

These we packed up most carefully to take on 
shore with us, and after telling Trenal that we were 
likely to be absent for some days with the hunters, 
but that before we went we would arrange as to 
the rate at which he was to pay for slaves, we 
returned to the shore. On regaining the fort, we 
found Mr. Colhns waiting breakfast for us, and 
showing no signs of his previous night’s debauch, 
though he owned to us that he had kept it up till 
after midnight. 

When breakfast was finished, bearers and ham- 
mocks were in readiness to conduct us to Ehin 
Blay’s palace, and, surrounded by our seamen and 
a party of men from the fort, we proceeded thither. 
On arriving at the gateway, we were received by 
the obofo and okyami, and conducted through 
two large courtyards to a mud or swish building 
about seventy feet long by forty wide, with a high 
pitched roof, outside which we found the ehin 
dressed in his fetish robes, which were sewn all 
over with small bells and charms, or grigris, and 
on either side of the doorway were two huge 


214 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


earthen pots, full of all sorts of filth, which he had 
been compounding as komfo, or magic. 

He welcomed us most warmly, and leading us 
into the building, which was composed of three 
rooms, he seated us on armchairs close by his 
throne, which was a very handsome carved chair 
that had been presented to his father some years 
before, on the occasion of his having stood by the 
English traders when they were attacked by the 
Hollanders from the fort at Axim, assisted by a 
large body of Fantis. 

Our fresh presents were now shown, and Ehin 
Blay, who had never seen anything like them 
before, was much delighted, and, in addition to 
the regulation present of gold, he gave me and 
Merrick five and twenty young and lusty slaves. 

After this palaver was over, we were conducted 
into another house, where a banquet, according to 
native ideas, was prepared for ua. 

The arrangement of the table was very curious, 
as gold and silver vessels of native manufacture 
were mixed up with coarse earthenware, also made 
by the natives ; but the viands were by no means 
to be despised. There were several sorts of soups 
and meats, and among the contents of the dishes 
were some most delicious prawns and oysters. 

Ehin Blay pressed us to eat, and seemed much 
disappointed that our appetites were not moie 
commensurate with his preparations than tney 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


215 


were. The usual amount of drinking' accompanied 
the eating, and we were pressed to drink palm 
wine, schnapps, and all sorts of liquors and cordials, 
and it was hard indeed to resist the pressing hospi 
tality of our host. 

This breakfast, or whatever it might be called, 
concluded the formal part of our business with 
the king, and, returning to the fort, we soon began 
to arrange a scale for the price of slaves, and 
found that we should be able to buy here, without 
making a serious impression on our own cargo, 
some three hundred and twenty in all, which would 
fill up the Foudre and make more than half of 
what we could take on board the Black Prince ; 
so I told Merrick that, as I found that these men 
had to be collected in small quantities, and that 
watering would also be a tedious business, I 
would even agree to go to the village of Niba 
with the sofahin and his men, if Ehin Blay’s 
stirring of the komfo proved favourable to our 
request. 

Whether it was that the augury was favourable, 
or that our presents had disposed the chief 
favourably towards us, we received a visit in the 
afternoon from the okyami, to say that Ehin Blay 
was willing that we should go to the elephant-hunt 
with the sofahin, whose name was Kwamina Ensa, 
and that the party were to start the next day. 

Mr. Collins said, “ Well, you may go, and, as for 


2i6 The Cruise of the Black Prince.'* 


the people, go safely, for Blay has never sufifered 
an Englishman to be harmed ; but you may get 
fevers, fluxes, and all sorts of malignant diseases ; 
but if you get ill and die, do not say I did not warn 
you.” 

Tom was so bent on seeing an elephant that 
no warnings or persuasions would turn him from 
his purpose, and seeing him so determined on it, 
I would not put any difficulties in the way of our 
starting, and, sending on board for guns and 
ammunition, made all our preparations for an early 
start the next morning. 

At daylight we found hammocks waiting for us, 
and, accompanied by Toby and six of our black 
crew to carry our belongings, we went to Ehin 
Blay’s house, where we found the sofahin and a 
party of forty men ready to start ; but before 
leaving, Blay insisted on our taking a dram to 
keep off the ill effects of the morning air. 

Our road at first led- across an open grassy 
savannah, which showed ligns of being flooded in 
the rainy season ; and after about an hour’s march, 
we arrived at a large expanse of water called the 
Ebumesu lagoon, which ran nearly due east and 
west, where canoes were vyaiting for us outside a 
belt of reeds which fringe^ the shore. After some 
trouble, we were carried through the reeds and put 
in the canoes, the largest of which were some 
twenty-five feet long by two wide, whilst some 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


217 


were no more than fifteen long, and hardly wide 
enough for a man to squat down in them. In one 
of the larger ones the sofahin, Merrick, and I, with 
two men paddling — one sitting up in the stern, and 
the other kneeling in the bow — we got away, leaving 
the rest to follow as quickly as they could, and 
after paddling for twenty minutes, we rounded a 
small headland, and saw a most extraordinary 
sight. 

On either side of the lagoon were clearings 
where provisions were raised, but the village, instead 
of being on shore, consisted of a number of huts 
built on piles at some distance from the shore. 
The platforms on which the huts stood were some 
four or five feet above the water, and were large 
and spacious, about one-half being covered by the 
hut, and the rest serving as a place to cook, lounge, 
or sleep on, and where at night the natives plied 
their trade of fishermen. 

To one of these huts we pulled, and, clambering 
up on the platform, waited for the remainder of our 
party to arrive, and had our breakfasts. Some 
fish had been caught during the night, which Toby 
fried for us, and proved most delicious. The sofahin 
also brought us some soup made of native cured 
fish, which is eaten with a pudding made of pounded 
plantains, called foofoo, and'which, if it had not 
been for the monstrous amount of peppers which 
these people put in all their food, would have b sen 


2i8 The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


most palatable. We were also supplied with fresh 
palm wine, which is a pleasant, cool, and refreshing 
drink, and not at all intoxicating, whilst when it 
has been kept a few hours it becomes unpleasant 
to the smell and taste, and is very heady. It is in 
this condition that it is consumed by the natives, who 
value all their drinks by their potent qualities — 
the greatest happiness of these west-coast negroes 
being apparently to get drunk ; if there is a greater 
one, it is being able to remain in that condition. 

The hut at which we took our meal was that of 
the chief or panin of the village, and during the 
whole time we were there, the inhabitants kept 
crowding to stare at the white men, many of them, 
although at so short a distance from the coast, 
never having seen one before ; and at times there 
must have been more than fifty people on the plat- 
form, and I was apprehensive whether it would not 
give way under such a burthen, and that we should 
all be precipitated into the water, but, though 
apparently frail, it gave no signs of yielding. 

When we again took to our canoes, a number of 
the villagers followed, not having satisfied their 
curiosity while we were on the platform ; but on 
coming to the end of the lagoon, where we entered 
a small passage through the reeds, the sofahin 
ordered them, under pain of the displeasure of 
Ehin Blay, to cease from following us. We paddled 
for a considerable distance up this passage through 


219 


TJie Cruise of the Black P rimer 


the reeds, the heat being most trying, as there was 
not a breath of air, and the sun was pouring its 
almost vertical rays on us. At last the passage 
widened out, and we found ourselves in the Bousaha 
river, up which it was said that canoes could pro- 
ceed for three or four d;^ys. 

The banks of the stream were lined by dense 
jungle, which was matted together with masses 
of creepers, many covered with gorgeous flowers, 
and here and there the tall spiky feathers of the 
rattan palm ran many feet into the air, relieving 
the heavy appearance of the forest. Among the 
trees we could occasionally see the glimpses of 
monkeys and birds of varied form and plumage 
keep flitting across, and flocks of parrots and 
touracons flying high above the trees added to the 
charm of the scene. After some hours’ paddling 
we arrived at a large village, which the sofahin told 
us was our destination, Niba, and here we landed, 
and were conducted to a large, clean, and airy 
house built of bamboos, which, we were told, was 
placed entirely at our disposal. 

The people here exhibited the same curiosity as 
those at the lake village, but we were prevented 
from being disagreeably incommoded by the sofa- 
hin posting men to prevent them from crowding in 
on us. As soon as Toby had arranged our things 
in the hut, the sofahin and the panin of the village 
came to see us, and informed us that men had 


220 


The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


been out watching the elephants, but that they 
were too far distant for us to go after them from 
Niba ; and that the next day it would be necessary 
for us to proceed further up the stream to another 
village, called Esnati, where they had only a day 
or two before destroyed m^i^y of the plantations. 

Tom and I made ourselves very comfortable, 
and in the evening we amused ourselves by a stroll 
round the village, and were much astonished by 
the general air of plenty and comfort which per- 
vaded it, and which contrasted favourably with 
many English villages. Groves of plantains, palm 
trees, patches of corn, rice, sweet potatoes, yams, 
and ground nuts, provided all the necessaries of 
life ; and the people also owned many goats and 
fowls, and near almost every hut were pepper 
plants and patches of tobacco. Every here and 
there we came on signs of the belief of the people 
in fetish, in the shape of pots of komfo and charms, 
consisting of bones, skulls, and other objects ; 
whilst in a small hut in the centre of the village 
were ranged the fetish drums of the village, hung 
round with human skulls, whilst hanging to the 
roof were horns and whistles, made of small tusks 
of ivory and human leg-bones. 

The hut was cool, and the bedplaces of bamboos 
and mats were by no means uncomfortable, and we 
enjoyed a thoroughly good night’s rest, and were 
quite ready to start in the morning when Toby 


The Cruise of the Black Prmcei 


221 


came and told us the canoes were ready. We con- 
tinued up the stream until past midday, passing 
several small villages on the banks of the stream, 
and seeing near most of them fishing-weirs and 
baskets of a most ingenious construction for catching 
prawns. 

At Esnati the people were very glad to see us 
approach, as the elephants had been committing 
great depredations in their plantations, and they 
were most anxious to have them either driven 
away or killed, and had hitherto been prevented 
from doing either by the orders of Ehin Blay. 

As soon as we landed, the sofahin sent to the 
pan in, and told him to send men to tell all the men 
in the neighbouring village to assemble to receive 
his orders as to the dispositions for the morrow's 
hunt. 


222 


The Cruise of the Black Princei 


CHAPTER XIX. 

A GOODLY number were soon mustered and 
despatched to various points, so as to drive the 
elephants towards an open glade in the forest, 
where the sofahin and his warriors would be lying 
in wait for them, and where a perch would be in 
one of the trees, from which Tom and I could view 
the sport without danger. 

The hut in which we had our quarters was 
similar to the one at Niba, and as we should 
have to leave at four in the morning for our post, 
as the drive was to begin at daylight, we went to 
bed early. Toby called us soon after three, and 
had' some hot soup ready, which we considered a 
better specific against the night air than a dram 
of Schnapp’s, which the sofahin pressed on our 
acceptance. Four men with lighted torches of 
palm branches, which they kept alight by striking 
against the trees, led us to the place where we 
were to climb into the tree, and the path, which 
was but a mere track in the jungle, would have 
been bad enough in the broad light of da)*. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince!' 223 


necessitated our picking our footsteps with care, 
and fallen trunks of trees and hanging creepers 
had to be carefully avoided. It was nearly sunrise 
when we were ensconced on the platform in the 
tree branches which had been contrived for us, 
and here we and Toby with our guns waited 
anxiously for the sounds of the beaters. 

As soon as the first rays of the sun were seen 
gilding the tops of the forest, we heard the beating 
of a big drum, and this was the signal for others, 
accompanied by shouts and the braying of horns, 
to commence in all directions. In the open space 
below us we could sec the sofahin moving about 
posting his men, but soon they had all concealed 
themselves, and no sign of life save an occasional 
bird or butterfly could be seen in the grassy 
glade. 

We waited patiently for a long time, the noise 
meanwhile growing closer and closer, and at last 
we heard a crashing among the trees about forty 
yards from us. I could see the heads of the 
hunters as they peered anxiously from their 
lurking places, and the sofahin signing energeti- 
cally to them not to move, and then there came 
out into the open a little elephant, not more than 
five feet high. 

“ Well,” said Merrick, “ I have heard of traveller’s 
talcs ; but certainly I would never have come out 
here to see an elephant, if I thought it was no 


224 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


bigger than that. Why, it’s no taller than a good- 
sized horse.” 

“ Hush ! ” I said ; “ that’s only a baby. See, the 
hunters are none of them moving. Wait a bit, 
and you will see something in a moment.” 

At that instant we heard a shrill trumpeting, 
and a huge tusker, with his trunk up in the air and 
his ears cocked back, burst right into the middle 
of the open space, and was followed by four or five 
others, one of whom was evidently the mother of 
the small one we saw first. 

The sofahin gave a loud yell, and, springing from 
his hiding-place, hurled a spear at the big elephant’s 
hind quarters. The monster turned instantly, 
as if to trample his pigmy assailant under foot ; 
but now the other warriors broke from their 
cover, and in a few moments the huge beast was 
riddled with spears and sank to the ground, 
expiring from pain and the loss of blood. His 
consorts were assailed by spears and poisoned 
arrows, but the only ones that succumbed to theif 
wounds beside the large tusker were the little one 
that we had first seen and its mother, which fell a 
victim to her maternal solicitude. The others 
broke through the surrounding bands of beaters, 
but their tracks were followed up by detachments 
of experienced hunters, and, all having been 
wounded by poisoned arrows, would be found dead 
within a few miles. 


The Cruise of the Black Prince ': 


225 


Merrick proposed that we should follow up one 
of the largest, but the sofahin said the road was 
impassable for hammocks, and when we said we 
would go on foot, averred that he was responsible 
for our safety to Ehin Blay, and he would not 
allow us to go far in the jungle without carriers. 
While we were still disputing about this, a 
messenger arrived from Mr. Collins, saying that 
the governor of the Dutch fort, Santo Antonio at 
Axim, had sent his cane-bearer with a message, 
announcing that he was about to pay a visit to his 
English co7ifrere at Axim, and that he hoped to 
be able to do trade with the two English vessels, 
which he heard had arrived at the latter place ; 
and Mr. Collins urged on us to return back at 
once, as it was very rare that the Hollanders 
departed from their exclusive habit of dealing only 
with their own countrymen, and that their doing 
so in this instance proved that they must have 
some special reason for it, which would no doubt 
prove greatly to our advantage. 

Tom and I instantly agreed to return without 
delay, and getting back to Esnati, we got our 
canoes and paddled quickly down the Bousaha, 
passing Niba and the lake village without stopping, 
and then again taking hammocks, we arrived at 
the fort soon after sunset 

Mr. Collins professed himself to be very glad to 
see us back again, and said he hoped we should 

Q 


226 The Cruise of the ''Black Princel* 


feel no ill effect from what he termed our hare- 
brained expedition. I found that during our 
absence the surf had been heavy, and that both 
watering and shipping the slaves had had to be 
discontinued, and I was very sorry to hear that 
some of the water-casks had been broken up in 
attempting to haul them off to the boats. 

Next morning runners came in saying that the 
Dutch governor had slept at Esrim^nu, and would 
be with us in the course of the day. 

Accordingly soon after noon we saw him and 
his escort, preceded by a huge Dutch flag, coming 
along the beach, and turned out to meet him. 
Following the flag were first half a dozen 
hammocks containing white soldiers, each of 
whom was attended by men carrying their 
muskets and necessaries, then came twenty armed 
natives, and then in litters with handsome awnings 
were the Dutch factor and one of his writers, and 
then came a miscellaneous crowd of carriers 
bearing the luggage, and the whole was brought 
up in rear by another detachment of armed natives. 

We welcomed our visitors with a salvo from the 
fort and ships, and then conducted Mynheer Van 
Stecken and his writer into the reception-room of 
the fort. As soon as he was seated he began about 
the business which had brought him to Behin. It 
seemed that a few days before the long boat of the 
ship belonging to the Dutch African Company, 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


227 


which should have brought the supplies and trade 
goods for six months to Axim, had arrived in 
charge of one of her mates, and had reported that 
she had been lost off Grand Lahou, and that the 
captain and most of the crew had been massacred 
by the natives, and that the mate and seven men 
only had escaped, and, after great difficulties and 
hardships, had managed to reach Axim. Mynheer 
Van Stecken said that at Axim he was much in 
want of arms and powder, and also of trade goods 
of all kinds, and that he had a large number of 
slaves collected, in anticipation of the ship’s arrival, 
which, unless he disposed of them, he would be 
obliged to feed for another six months, as no other 
ship of his company was expected for that time. 

I professed myself willing to trade with him, 
and, as a large portion of our cargo consisted of 
powder and arms, we were able to settle upon very 
advantageous terms. I promised as soon as I had 
shipped the slaves I had bought at Behin and 
filled up with water, I would drop down to Axim, 
and there take on board those slaves he wished 
to sell me. 

At this Mynheer laughed, and said, “ What 1 you 
wait here to ship your slaves and water } You see 
the beach is bad now, and the bad season is coming 
on. You will be lucky if you have one day in a 
week when you can get slaves on board, and you 
may wait for a month before you can get your water- 


228 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


casks on board. Now at Axim you can always 
land easily. Close your business here as soon as 
you can, send your slaves down by land, and when 
you get to Axim, I will put all your slaves on 
board in two days, and fill you up with water and 
cassava in three or four more.” 

Mr. Collins confirmed what he said, and said that 
he would have proposed our going there before, 
only that he had not thought that our presence 
would have been welcomed by Mynheer Van 
Stecken. 

Our conversation was interrupted by Ehin Blay’s 
obofo coming with hi5 master’s cane, to say that 
he would come the next morning to call on the 
Dutch governor, and of course he had to be grati- 
fied and sent back with an answer in the affir- 
mative. 

The next two days were spent in ceremonials 
similar to those described, but there being little 
surf, I was able to press on with the shipment of 
slaves and gold and ivory, and when on the third 
day Mynheer Van Stecken returned to Axim I 
was able to promise him to follow two days after. 

When we closed our books with Mr. Collins and 
Ehin Bla}^, Merrick was able to tell me that we 
had made a most successful trade, and that at 
Axim we should be able to fill the Black Prince 
with slaves and still have a most satisfactory 
surplus of goods for the further purchase of gold. 


The Cruise of the ''Black Princel 


229 


This was indeed good news, and, what with my 
share of the prize-money we had, and of the profits 
on the trade, I hoped that on my return to England, 
I should be possessed of such a sum of money that, 
if I managed at Charleston, which under my orders 
I could and intended to visit, to induce Muriel to 
throw in her lot with mine, she would not be sub- 
jected to any of the trials of poverty. 

The beach remaining good, we completed our 
work at Behin in the time I had named, and after 
farewell interviews with Ehin Blay, and making 
handsome presents to all his officials and his 
favourite wife, I bade Mr. Collins good-bye, with 
hearty thanks for his kindness and assistance, and 
going on board, ordered the two ships to weigh 
their anchors, and stood down to Axim, which 
place we reached after a few hours’ sail, noticing 
on our way the ruins of the fort Elise Cartago, on 
the point to the eastward of the entrance to the 
Ancobra river. 

When we anchored off Axim I caused the Dutch 
flag to be saluted in proper man-of-war fashion, 
which was duly returned from Fort Santo Antonio, 
and soon after Mynheer Van Stecken came off in 
his boat to carry me and Merrick ashore to lodge 
with him. 

We passed on the way ashore the peninsula of 
Bobowasua, where our host informed us that 
Admiral Van Ruyter had planted the battery 


230 The Cruise of the ''Black Princel^ 


which compelled the Portuguese to surrender the 
fort of Santo Antonio, which was then a mere block, 
house and battery. The present fort had been 
commenced by the Dutch Governor Schoorwas, 
whose grave inside he showed, with a slab above it 
on which was rudely cut — 

“WILLEM 
SCHOORWAS 
COMMAD. OP. AXEM 
1659” 

The fort was well garrisoned, and mounted 
twenty-two iron guns, besides pateraroes, and the 
landward side was protected by two bastions and 
a doorway which opened on a loopholed courtyard. 

I was much astonished at the state kept up by 
Mynheer Van Stecken, and the caution which he 
displayed in his dealings with the natives. Instead 
of, as at Behin, the native chiefs being permitted to 
come into the fort, they were never allowed to 
penetrate beyond the courtyard, where all palavers 
with them were held, and where shortly after our 
arrival the king of the place and his chiefs came to 
pay their respects to the governor and his visitors. 

In the town were large barracoons, which had 
been filled with slaves, in anticipation of the visit of 
the ship which had been wrecked, and we soon 
made arrangements for completing our cargo and 
filling up with water, and also for a large supply of 


The Cruise of the Black Prhice: 


231 


cassava meal and dried fish for feeding the slaves 
on the passage across the Atlantic. 

I found that, notwithstanding the distrust evinced 
by the Hollanders towards the natives, they 
exercised much more control over them than Mr- 
Collins did at Behin, and Mynheer Van Stecken 
told me that they had forts a long way up the 
Ancobra river, beside smaller stations at some of 
the gold mines, where slaves were employed in 
digging for the precious metal for the benefit of the 
Dutch African Company. 

In addition to filling up with slaves, I was able 
to make most advantageous purchases of gold with 
the surplus of my cargo, and in four days after my 
anchoring at Axim, was able to weigh anchor again, 
having on board as valuable a cargo as had ever 
been shipped on board a Liverpool ship. 

During our stay I was witness to the barbarity 
of the natives in a most revolting manner. I was 
walking out one evening with the governor, when 
we heard a great drumming and blowing of horns, 
and going to where the noise proceeded from, we 
found a great crowd of people surrounding the 
chiefs and some of his head men, who were super- 
intending the execution of some poor wretches who 
had been found guilty of witchcraft Two unfor- 
tunate creatures were being burnt, and four others 
were being *slowly hacked to death, fingers and toes 
being first chopped off, and then hands and feet, 


232 


The Crtdse of the Black Prince^ 


and little children were encouraged to make chops 
and cuts at the bodies of the victims, which, though 
not sufficient to cause fatal injury, must have added 
much to the sufferings of the poor wretches who 
were being massacred. Into these cuts red peppers 
were rubbed, and the contortions of the miserable 
sufferers seemed to afford intense glee to the 
lookers-on. 

One woman, the others who were being judicially 
murdered being men, was tied hand and foot, and 
on my companion asking what was going to be 
done to her, we were informed that she was reserved 
for a still more horrid fate than her companions in 
misfortune, as she was to be tak'bn to where there 
was a run of driver ants, and there to be eaten alive 
by them. 

We were too late to save any of the men, but 
although Mynheer Van Stecken much objected to 
interfering with any of these proceedings of the 
natives, which had nothing to do with trade, he at 
last yielded to my insistence, and after some trouble 
I was able to purchase the woman and rescue her 
from her horrid fate, and send her on board the 
ship. 

Bidding farewell to the Hollanders, I determined 
before standing across the Atlantic, though it might 
samewhat lengthen my voyage, to visit Cape Coast 
Castle, and inform the governor there of the war 
between England and France, and of the contents 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


233 


of the despatches we had captured on board the 
Saint Pierre, for which I received his hearty thanks, 
and a promise that he would write to the council 
of the African Company to inform them of the 
service I had rendered him. 

As we made sail away from the African coast 
for Antigua, Tom Merrick congratulated me on 
the successful conclusion of what might be con- 
sidered the first half of our voyage, and also that 
while we had been on the coast we had had very 
little illness to call for McAllister’s attention. 

Our voyage across the Atlantic was like most 
voyages with a favouring trade wind, and our time 
was principally employed with airing and looking 
after the slaves, and in training a certain number of 
them to serve at the guns, so that if by any chance 
we fell in with any enemy we should have all the 
guns of both ships fully manned. 


234 Cniise of the Black Prince^ 


CHAPTER XX. 

Nothing worthy of note occurred till we got 
close to the West Indies, where we fell in with a 
privateer schooner (or more likely a pirate) who, at 
daylight one morning ran towards us under French 
colours, and fired a shot across our bows, as a 
signal for us to heave to, but meeting with a warmer 
reception than he had bargained for, hauled off 
again. 

“In four days more we shall be at Antigua,” I 
was saying to Tom Merrick the evening after this 
episode, when he said, pointing to the horizon, 
“ What does that mean ? ” 

“ I don’t know ; it looks very curious. Why, I am 
afraid it presages a hurricane ; but the trade wind 
is still holding, and a hurricane will not blow 
against it.” 

Scarcely were these words out of my mouth 
when it suddenly fell stark calm, and looking again 
in the direction which Tom had pointed out, I saw 
heavy clouds and lightning flashing from them. I 
instantly turned the hands up to shorten sail, and 


The Cruise of the Black Pruice'. 


235 


soon got the ship under close reefed fore and main- 
top-sails and forestay-sail, and sent down my upper 
masts and yards, at the same time signalling to 
Trenal in the Foudre to follow my motions, and 
make all snug for bad weather. 

As soon as sail was shortened we double breeched 
our guns, barred in our ports, shipped the deadlights 
and battened down the hatches, except two small 
scuttles, which we were forced to leave open to 
afford some air for the slaves, who had all to be 
kept below. 

Soon after sunset the heavens became over- 
clouded, and the darkness was as a darkness which 
might be felt, save when the vivid flashes of light- 
ning illumined the quarter from which the storm 
was approaching, while the calm was so profound 
that a naked candle burnt on the poop without 
flickering. 

The feeling that we should soon have to contend 
with the storm, while as yet we could do nothing 
was most oppressive, and the men moved about as 
if afraid of disturbing the dread silence which 
weighed upon us all, and if any one spoke it was 
only in a whisper. After a time a few flickering 
breaths of wind came on in intermittent puffs, 
and then we heard a roar as of a heavy surf, and 
could see all the sea to windward of us converted 
into a mass of fire by the falling rain. A brilliant 
and blinding flash of lightning, followed by a 


236 The Cniise of the Black Princel 


deafening peal of thunder, and then the rain fell on 
us as if the gates of heaven had been opened and 
forced us to hold on to ropes and rigging to 
prevent our being beaten to the decks. 

The rain ceased almost as suddenly as it had 
commenced, and we were again left in a dead 
calm ; but this only lasted for a few moments, for 
with a line of white foam the full force of wind 
broke on us, and, though fortunately we were not 
taken aback, we were thrown almost on our beam- 
ends, and the fore and maintop-sails were blown 
out of their bolt ropes with a report like a cannon 
shot. Luckily the stay-sail held on, and we paid 
off before the gale, and soon were running before 
it, and almost fouled the Foiidre^ who had not fallen 
off so quickly as we had. 

1 now ordered the men to get a tarpaulin in the 
mizzen rigging, to try and bring the ship by the 
wind again, but such was the force of the wind, 
that they were unable to do so, and as the fore- 
stay-sail sheet carried away, the sail split to ribbons, 
and I, being unable to run, had to try some means 
to come by the wind, which I at last managed by 
manning the mizzen rigging, and then, after intense 
labour and trouble, we got a small tarpaulin up. 
The ship now rode more easily over the waves, and 
I burnt a blue light, to show our position to the 
Foudre. The scene on our decks was one of con- 
fusion, the sea having made a clean breach over 


The Cruise of the "'Black Princel 


237 


the waist nettings, and the boomboats and spare 
spars, notwithstanding their having had extra 
lashings put on, had been washed from their places, 
whilst from below we could hear the shrieks and 
moans of the slaves, who evidently were frightened 
almost out of their lives. 

The Foudre replied to our light by burning 
another, and we could see that she had suffered 
even more than we had, for both her fore and main 
top-sail yards were gone, and the mizzentop-sail was 
blown out of the gaskets and fluttering in ribbons, 
but this no doubt had helped Trenal in getting her 
by the wind. 

All night long the gale continued without 
intermission, and we had to labour without re- 
mission to secure the spare spars, and get the 
wreck of the boats overboard, in which work several 
of our men were hurt. At last the sun rose, and 
we could see more what to do, and that our consort 
was still keeping by the wind in our wake. About 
ten o'clock the wind fell as suddenly as it had risen, 
but left a heavy confused sea which seemed to be 
running from all points of the compass, whilst round 
u5 we could see clouds and wrack driven furiously 
in all directions. 

We rolled and strained so heavily that it was 
not long before we sprang a leak, and were forced 
to set our pumps going, with slaves to work them, 
who were glad enough to purchase exemption 


238 The Cruise of the "'Black Prince'^ 

from the horrors of the holds and ’tween decks by 
participation in this arduous toil. 

Suddenly the wind struck us again, and the 
Foudre^ being caught aback, was driven furiously 
astern, and we thought that she would founder 
before our eyes without our being able to stretch 
out a hand to help our comrades ; but fortunately, 
though her decks were swept, her hatches proved 
staunch, and after a few minutes she paid off on the 
port tack, on which we also were, though not before 
she had cut her mizzen-mast away. For two hours 
more we remained trying by the wind when its force 
somewhat moderated, and being able to steer in the 
direction we wished with the wind abaft the beam, 
we loosed our foresail and mainstay-sails. Soon 
after the Foudre signalled to us that her rudder, 
which had been damaged when she was taken 
aback, was now useless, and that she had had again 
to bring to the wind and try. We did the same, and 
for a night and part of the following day we lay by 
her, when, the weather having moderated, we were 
able to stand on again, the Foudre steering by 
means of a boat with the plug out, veered astern 
at the end of a heavy hawser, and controlled by 
whips led through spars rigged well out on either 
quarter. 

We had all hands in both ships busy repairing 
damages, and had all the slaves up on deck to 
give them air and exercise, and I was much con- 


The Cruise of the ''Black Prince: 


239 


cerned to find that in the rolling and pitching of 
the ship several had been injured, no fewer than 
ten on board the Blcick Prince suffering from 
broken limbs, while two had expired from injuries 
they had received. Our leak in the Black Prince 
began to assume serious dimensions, and the water 
threatened to gain on us, notwithstanding that the 
pumps were kept going unceasingly and gangs of 
slaves with buckets put on to assist by bailing. 

At last I went down into the hold to try if I by 
any means could discover its whereabouts, and after 
much patient search I found that one of the shot- 
holes received in our action with the Algerine had 
reopened, and the water was pouring in in jets with 
every motion of the ship. 

1 lost no time in having a spare sprit-sail 
thrummed, and then, with much trouble, we 
managed to get it under the leak, and I had the 
satisfaction of finding it was much diminished, and 
that the pumps alone gained considerably on the 
water. 

Tom said to me, when this was done, “We have 
been congratulating ourselves rather too soon. Bob ; 
for with worse ships or less seamanship we might 
have found ourselves in Davy Jones’ locker.” 

“ True, Tom ; *but we’ve pulled out of this mess, 
and many poor fellows, no doubt, have been lost j 
but we should be thankful for our good fortune.” 

At this moment the look-out man hailed that he 


240 


The Cruise of the ''Black Princei 


saw a large vessel on our starboard bow, and we 
soon ran towards her, when we could see that she 
was a frigate with her masts gone, and as we drew 
near she hoisted French colours. 

She had sheers up forward, and we could make 
out that the men on board were trying to rig up a 
jury mast, but they seemed very few in number, 
and not to have much idea of what they were about. 

I hoisted the English colours and stood towards 
her, and as I drew near could make out that her 
ports were all open, and her guns had been thrown 
overboard. 

“Well, Tom,” I said, “here’s another stroke of 
luck. We will take that fellow into Antigua with 
us, and she will pay for the damages we have 
received in the hurricane.” 

Calling to quarters, we took up a position about 
a pistol-shot on her bow, and ordered them to strike, 
enforcing the command by throwing a shot across 
her forefoot. Thqy hauled down their colours at 
once, and, going on board, I found our prize was 
the Tonnanty a French frigate, homeward bound 
with despatches, which had been caught by the 
hurricane when quite unprepared, and her masts 
had been blown clean out of her when most of her 
crew were aloft endeavouring to ifhbrten sail. Her 
crew, which before had been much reduced by the 
ravages of yellow fever, was by this catastrophe 
brought down to only forty or fifty men, and of 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


241 


these many had been injured in the hurricane by 
some of the guns getting adrift 

When I told the captain, Monsieur L’Estrange, 
Knight of the Order of St Louis, that he was 
captured by a Liverpool slaver with a letter of 
marque, and that he was the third prize we had 
taken, I thought he would have fainted from 
annoyance ; but he was a high-minded gentleman, 
and ordered the remnants of his crew to assist in 
getting hawsers on board from us, so that we might 
take him in tow. Scarcely had this been finished 
when a squadron hove in sight, which proved to 
be the English West Indian fleet, under the com- 
mand of Admiral Sir Harry Jones, and which also 
had been severely injured in the hurricane. A line- 
of-battle ship, a brig, and two transports were 
missing, and two other ships were dismantled, 
whilst not one of the whole squadron was in such 
good trim as the Black Prince. 

Three days more of favourable weather brought 
both us and the squadron into the harbour of 
Falmouth, in Antigua. 

From some of the crew of the Tonnant — for 
Captain L’Estrange had thrown his despatches over- 
board — we found that the French fleet was about 
to rendezvous at Guadeloupe, and that there was 
an intention of trying to capture some of the 
English islands. Besides men-of-war, we learned 
that the French had also many transports full of 

R 


242 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


soldiers expected from Europe ; and Sir Harry 
Jones was bent on refitting his squadron with all 
despatch, so as to entrap these and their envoy 
before they could join the main body. 

With organized labour, zeal, and good seaman- 
ship, it is wonderful what can be done, and the 
dismantled and unserviceable -looking ships, that 
had with difficulty managed to reach the anchorage, 
soon began to resume the appearance of British 
men-of-war. But we had to wait before we could 
get any assistance from the shore, until the more 
pressing needs of the men-of-war had been attended 
to. 

Our first business was to put our two prizes into 
the Vice- Admiralty Court, and to get permission to 
land the slaves out of the Foudre, This was at once 
granted, and all the slaves from both the Foiidre 
and Black Prince were landed, and placed under 
the charge of Mr. Stevenson, the correspondent of 
Messrs. Merrick and Floyd. Mr. Stevenson, with 
West Indian hospitality, urged Tom and myself to 
take up our quarters with him, and extended the 
same kindness to Monsieur L’Estrange, who was 
released on parole. 

The legal formalities at the prize court did not 
take long, and Sir Harry Jones, who was in want of 
frigates and smaller vessels, bought both of them 
into the king’s navy, the Tonnant under her own 
name, and the Foudre as the Satellite^ and both of 


The Cruise of the Black Prince,' 


243 


them, in the hands of naval officers, did much good 
work in the West Indies. 

Although in the still water of a land-locked 
harbour, when we removed the thrummed sail, 
the Black Prmce did not leak to a dangerous 
degree, still, I knew that it would not be wise to 
go to sea again until she had been thoroughly over- 
hauled. I, therefore, cleared her out entirely, and 
sent down all her spars, leaving only her lower masts 
and bowsprit standing, and, caulking in her ports 
and hatchways, I made preparations for heaving 
her down. We bolted on large strong outriggeiS 
abreast of the lower masts, and over these, from the 
mast-heads, we set up preventor shrouds to span, 
under the ship’s bottom, and, hiring some large 
capstan lighters, which we ballasted well, we hove 
her keel clean out of the water. On examining the 
bottom we found that water had got inside the 
sheathing, so as to necessitate the removal of 
the whole of it, and we had also to remove some 
six or seven of the planks of her bottom, and two 
timbers were so damaged that we had to through- 
bolt strengthening pieces to them on the inside. 
When we came up the purchases and righted the 
ship, I found that the mainmast, which had been the 
most severely wounded of the three masts, was so 
wrung that we were obliged to take it out and make 
a new one ; and all this took a very considerable 
amount of time ; but in two months after our 


244 Cruise of the Black Princel' 

arrival at Antigua, I had the pleasure of seeing the 
Black Prince all ataunto again, and as fit for sea 
as the day we left Liverpool. 

Sir Harry Jones had sailed long before this, 
but the Tonnafit and Satellite were only com 
pleted about the same time as we were, and were 
awaiting orders, when news came in of the defeat 
of the French squadron by Sir Harry Jones, 
brought by the Rover, brig ; and orders were sent 
by her for the Tonnant and Satellite to proceed 
to Jamaica, to join the squadron there. As I had 
only been able to dispose of a portion of my 
slaves in Antigua, I determined to accompany 
them to Kingston. 

Our passage there was short and uneventful, and 
I had no difficulty in getting rid of the rest of my 
negroes at a good price. This being done, Tom 
Merrick and I had a consultation as to what we 
had best do. War had been declared with Spain, 
and there was an opening for making some prize- 
money in the Spanish main, if we went down there , 
but still we had already been so successful, that 
I thought we might fairly commence our voyage 
home, and I was most anxious to get to Charles- 
ton, to try and obtain a glimpse of my Muriel ; 
for though I knew the dear girl would be faithful 
to me, still I could not help feeling afraid that her 
father might try to force upon her some one whom 
he considered an eligible suitor. 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


245 


Tom proposed our taking a run down to west- 
ward of Cuba, and then returning east to the north 
of that island, and making use of the current to 
get up past the Bahamas, and out of the Florida 
Channel. In this way, he argued, we should be 
killing two birds with one stone, having a cruise, 
and also getting on our way home. I was inclined 
to decide on this course, but freights home by a 
ship which, like the Black Prhice^ could make the 
passage without a convoy should be easily ob- 
tainable, and if I were only able to get an offer 
of freight by a merchant who would require me to 
call at Charleston, I determined on accepting it. 

Whilst I was still undecided as to what course 
I should adopt, I received a message from the 
admiral, requesting me to wait on him without 
delay, and on repairing on board his flagship, the 
Implacable^ Sir Harry asked me if I were willing 
to hire my ship to the Government. 

I answered him that it depended on the circum- 
stances, but that if practicable I should only be 
too glad to consider his offer. He then told me 
that he wished to send despatches to a small 
squadron which was expected by the windward 
channel from England, telling them that he was 
going to leave Jamaica to make an attack on 
Guadeloupe, and giving them orders to rendezvous 
off that place ; next I was to go to Nassau, New 
Providence, and there leave similar orders for any 


246 The Cruise of the Black Princer 


ships which might call in there ; and after that 
to visit Charleston and Halifax, at which latter 
place I should be at liberty either to conclude or 
renew my engagement. 

This jumped so well with my ideas, that I told 
Sir Harry it would depend principally upon terms, 
and that as my super-cargo was son of the senior 
partner in the firm to which the ship belonged, I 
would have to consult him about it. 

“Get along, sir, then, and return as quick as 
you can ; for if you consent, I want you to be 
off to-morrow with the first of the sea breeze.” 

Tom came back with me at once to the admiral, 
and we soon agreed upon terms, and the admiral 
invited us both to dine with him that evening, 
which was a most unusual condescension on his 
part. At and after dinner he asked us many 
particulars of our voyage, and expressed himself 
much amused about George Dormer stealing his 
wife from the Grand Canary, and told me to bring 
the ship’s log on board with me when I came for 
my sailing orders in the morning, in order that 
he might examine the account of our action with 
the Algerme, and write on it a recommendation 
that we should be rewarded by the Admiralty 
for having destroyed one of these pests of civili- 
zation. He laughed very much at our other three 
prizes having been taken with so small trouble, 
but he warned us that while carrying despatches, 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


247 


although we were to resist to the utmost any 
attempts to capture us, still the safe delivery of our 
despatches was of far more importance ;han any 
captures that we could possibly make, and that we 
were therefore to avoid any action as much as 
possible, and not to fight unless it were absolutely 
necessary. 

When he rose from the table and wished us 
good night, we received a message from the lieu- 
tenant’s mess, in which there were some old mess- 
mates of Dormer’s, to go down there, and over a 
glass of grog again narrate the story of how he 
won his bride ; and it was not till the ship’s bell 
struck seven in the first watch that we were 
able to escape from their hospitality, all of them 
averring that both Merrick and I ought to be 
naval officers instead of privateersmen. 

Next morning I went on board for my de- 
spatches and orders, and besides the true de- 
spatches, which were to be thrown overboard or 
destroyed if we saw any risk of our being cap- 
tured, I was also given false ones, which I was to 
suffer to fall into the enemies’ hand. Sir Harry 
Jones told me that I was to make the best of my 
way to the windward channel, and then to beat 
about for ten days, by which time, if I did not 
fall in with the squadron, for which I was to look 
out, I was to conclude that it had chosen some other 
route, and I was to proceed on my way to Nassau. 


248 The Cruise of the Black Princer 


He, as he had promised, made a most handsome 
notation in our log about our action, which finished 
up by saying, that not only did the officers and 
crew of the Black Prince deserve a money reward 
for the destruction of the corsair, but that he 
hoped that her master, Mr. Robert Hawkins, 
would receive some special mark of approbation 
from his Majesty’s Government for the valour and 
seamanship displayed on this occasion. 

“And now, my lad,” said the gallant officer, “a 
pleasant voyage and a prosperous one, and may 
you be as prosperous in love as you have been 
in war.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


249 


CHAPTER XXL 

Returning on board, I found Trenal had the 
topsails sheeted home and mastheaded, the yards 
braced abox, and the cable shortened in to short 
stay. My boat was soon hanging at the davits 
and the anchor run up to the bow. As the ship 
fell off, we braced round the head-yards, and ran 
up the jib and topmaststay-sail, and then made 
all plain sail on a wind, passing under the admiral’s 
stern, and dipping our colours to him as we did 
so, which compliment was duly acknowledged, the 
admiral himself waving his hat to us from his 
stern gallery. 

We beat up to the east end of Jamaica, and then 
as soon as we were far enough to windward made 
a leg to the northward, and in a few days were 
in the position where we were to look out for the 
squadron from England. I kept beating to wind- 
ward under easy sail during the day-time, and, 
lowering the topsails on the cap, let the ship run 
down again in the night-time what she had made 
good in the daylight; but day after day passed, 


250 The Cruise of the ''Black Princel 


and we saw nothing of the squadron, though we 
sighted some small schooners, all of which gave 
us a clear berth. At last, when our time was 
nearly up, just before daylight we heard heavy 
firing to windward. I instantly made sail, and, 
hauling to the wind, beat up in its direction, and 
soon came upon one of the most beautiful, and 
at the same time most terrible, of spectacles — a 
naval engagement. 

The English squadron consisted of five line-of- 
battle ships and four frigates, and was accompanied 
by a large convoy of transports and merchant 
ships. A French squadron of rather superior force 
had attempted to cut off some of the convoy, but 
had been foiled in their attempt, and brought to 
action by the English. When we arrived on the 
scene the fortune of the day had already declared 
in favour of the English, for two of the French 
ships had struck their colours, and one of their 
frigates was dismasted, although still making a 
gallant resistance against an English frigate, which 
was just running her on board. The English, as 
might be expected, had not come off scotfree, three 
of the line-of-battle ships being unable to pursue 
the remainder of the French squadron, which was 
now making all sail to escape, hotly pursued by 
those of the English which were in a condition 
to do so. 

A large frigate was in advance of the Frenchmen, 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


251 


and as she seemed likely to make good her escape 
I stood towards her, and as soon as we came within 
gunshot opened fire upon her. She at once re- 
turned the compliment, aiming principally at our 
spars in order to disable us. As she was running 
and had to pass close to us, I determined to try 
the effect of a broadside of chain and bar-shot 
at close range, and, though we suffered somewhat 
in our sails and rigging, held on before delivering 
it until we were so close that we could have chucked 
a biscuit on board of her, and then gave the order 
to fire. Our broadside was most effective, carrying 
away her mainyard and foretop-mast, though at 
the same moment our maintop-mast came crashing 
about our ears, and Tom Merrick, who was standing 
on the poop, was severely wounded by a splinter. 
I had no time to look after him as he was carried 
below, for the maintop-mast in falling had masked 
some of the guns, and the sails had caught fire, 
so that all the energies of my crew, except those 
who were working the bow guns, had to be turned 
to extinguishing the flames. Fortunately for us, 
the wreck of the Frenchman’s foretop-mast falling 
over his bows prevented his mancEuvring, and 
placed him in such a position that our guns w^hich 
were in action would bear on his stern, and we 
were enabled to gall him severely, though from 
his small-arm men stationed in the tops he was 
able to vciy much annoy those of our men who 


252 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


were engaged in extinguishing the flames and 
clearing away the wreck. 

The other French ships in passing went on 
the other side of the frigate, and we in consequence 
received but little hurt from them, but the captain 
of the leading English line-of-battle ship, seeing 
how matters were, thrust his ship in between us 
and the frigate, and as he passed poured a broad- 
side into her stern, which brought down her main 
and mizzen-masts, and gave her such an argument 
to surrender, that she instantly struck her colours. 
The English captain hailed me to send a boat 
on board and take possession, and thus for the 
second time within three months I received the 
sword of a French captain on his own quarter- 
deck. 

Relieved from the annoyance of the enemy, our 
men soon put the fire out and, working smartly, 
cleared away the wreck and got the spare maintop- 
mast on end. On board the frigate, I cut away 
ail the wreckage, and managed to get her before 
the wind and set the foresail to follow up the 
English squadron. 

Two more line-of-battle ships and another frigate 
were taken by noon, and then the English admiral, 
seeing no hopes of catching up the other French 
ships, which had the heels of him, hauled to the 
wind, and made signals for his squadron to reform 
and the convoy to gather itself together. 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


253 


I brought the French frigate close to the liner 
which had caused her to strike, and requested them 
to send some men on board to take charge of her, 
as I was charged with despatches, and after going 
on board, the admiral said he wished me to proceed 
on to my destination. A prize crew under a lieu- 
tenant, soon came on board from the Centurion^ as 
the liner was called, and to him I turned over the 
Sanglier^ wdiich was the name of the frigate, to his 
charge ; and going on board my owm ship, I went 
and paid a visit to Tom, who was lying bandaged 
up in a cot under the poop, and, though in great 
pain, was very cheerful at the result of the day’s 
action, and said — 

“ Why, Bob, when you get home, you will be 
made a hero of — two frigates, a slaver, a corsair, 
and a chasse-inaree, all captured by the Black 
Prince^ Captain Hawkins, You have had more 
luck than many a captain in the navy who has 
been a man-of-war from his youth up.” 

McAllister reported to me that we had seven 
men wounded and three killed, and, curiously enough, 
that the three killed were survivors of the crew of 
the Betsy ^ who thus seemed to be the victims of 
persistent ill-fortune. 

As soon as I had seen the wounded, I took my 
log and despatches on board the admiral’s ship, 
the Dreadnought, of eighty guns. 

Admiral Thompson, who was in command of 


254 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


the squadron, welcomed me as I came over the 
side, and said, “ I have to compliment you on your 
gallant behaviour in bringing the frigate to action ; 
and I consider that the credit of her capture 
is due to you and your ship’s company,” 

I thanked him for his approval, and handed 
him the despatches which Sir Henry Jones had 
intrusted to me, which he hastily perused, and 
sending for his flag-captain, gave him orders to 
make a signal for all the captains to repair on 
board immediately. I then asked him if he would 
look at the notation Sir Harry had made in my 
log, and if he would be kind enough to make a 
similar entry about this action. 

“ Certainly, sir,” he replied. “ It seems that you 
have a good idea both of how to handle your ship 
and how to fight ; but first do you require any 
assistance for your ship or your wounded ? I see 
you have your maintop-mast up again ; you cer- 
tainly have not lost any time about it.” 

I thanked him, and said that I had a skilful 
surgeon on board, and that all my wounded had 
been well attended to, but that I should be thank- 
ful for some coils of small rope, to replace such of 
my running rigging as had been shot away. 

He said that I should have it at once, and gave 
orders for it to be passed down into my boat. 
“ And now,” he said, “ while my secretary prepares 
the report of the action, you had better come into 


TJie Cruise of the Black Prince! 


255 


my cabin for some refreshment, which I am sure 
you must need after the day’s work.” 

After I had partaken of some wine and biscuits, 
the admiral told me to make the best of my way 
to Nassau, and there leave the despatches for that 
place, after which I was to proceed to Charleston, 
where I was to transfer my despatches for Halifax 
to some other ship, for he wished me to take the 
report of the action home, and added, “ I hope that 
on your presenting them at the Admiralty you will 
receive some substantial mark of favour from the 
Government, in reward for your conduct to-day, 
of which I have made especial mention, as well as 
making a notation in your log according to your 
wish. Now make haste on board, for I see your 
fellows are ready, and I must say that your 
damages have been as promptly and smartly made 
good as it has ever been my fortune to see similar 
.vork done. Good-bye, and a prosperous voyage.” 

Thanking the admiral for his kindness, I hurried 
on board the Black Prince, and, continuing our 
course to the northward, we soon lost sight of the 
squadron. As soon as we had made sail I looked 
at the entry in my log, and found that Admiral 
Thompson had written as follows : — 

“ To be read by Mr. Hawkins to his officers and crew. 

“ My thanks are due to the master of the Black 
Prince, Mr. Robert Hawkins, and the officers and 


256 The Cruise of the ^'Black Prmce!^ 


men under his command, for the gallant and skilful 
manner in which the Sauglier was brought to 
action which resulted in her capture ; and I would 
recommend the Lords Commissioners of the 
Admiralty to allow the master, officers, and crew 
to share in the prize-money resulting from to-day’s 
action as if they actually belonged to one of his 
Majesty’s vessels of war. 

“John Thompson, 

“ Rear Admiral of the Billed 

As soon as I had read this the men gave three 
cheers, and when I told them that after arriving at 
Charleston we were to proceed direct to England 
with the report of the engagement, their delight 
.knew no bounds, as they were all desirous to have 
an opportunity of spending their w^ell-earned prize 
money. 

We soon stretched up the windward channel, 
and then among the Cays of the Bahamas we had 
some dangerous navigation, which required much 
care and caution. The low coral reefs, in some 
cases covered with waving cocoanut palms, under 
which w'cre the thatched and whitewashed cottages 
of the fishermen and wreckers who made these 
islets their head-quarters, and the small craft in 
which they plied their vocation, with their white 
sails flitting here and there and contrasting with 
the deep blue of the waters, made a scene of beauty 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


257 


which it was hard to surpass ; but in calms, when 
the water was smooth and we were near the shore, 
one had only to look over the ship’s side to see a 
scene which none of the fables of fairyland could 
equal. Corals of varied form and hue could be 
seen growing from a bottom of silver sand, on 
which even at a depth of twenty fathoms, so crystal 
clear was the water, every shell could be seen ; 
waving plumes of seaweed of many colours ; and 
fishes, some most beautiful and others most 
grotesque in form, some shining as if their scales 
were burnished gold, and some blue, vermilion, 
green, or yellow, passing in all directions ; —it needed 
but little imagination to fancy that we were passing 
over the haunts of mermen and mermaids, and one 
almost expected to see some hoary Triton blowing 
a summons on his couch to summon the forces of 
Neptune to drive away the mortals who had dared 
to trespass on his realms. 

But though all was beautiful, we had to exercise 
care and caution, not only on account of reefs and 
currents, but also against human foes ; for the 
inhabitants of these fairy isles bore no good reputa- 
tion, and although Blackbeard and other pirates 
had long paid the penalty of their crimes, there 
were many among the wreckers who lacked but the 
opportunity, though not the will, to become as great 
pests as their predecessors to the peaceful and 
defenceless merchantman. 


S 


258 The Cruise of the Black Pfiucel 


We haJ often to anchor to prevent drifting, and 
one night we were becalmed, and though at first 
we could get no bottom, after a time we struck 
soundings in twenty fathoms, and soon found the 
water shoaling rapidly, so at nine fathoms I let go 
the stream anchor, and, tricing up the boarding 
nettings, I ordered the watch on deck to sleep at 
their guns ; and leaving Trenal in charge of tlie 
deck, I went down to sit by the side of Merrick, 
whose condition was causing me considerable 
anxiety, as the fever was running high, and his 
wound was not healing in so kindly a manner as 
we could wish. 

He was somewhat delirious, and babbled of his 
home and of George Dormer, and spoke as if I was 
absent. Suddenly he raised himself up in a sitting 
position, and said, “ Hist ! there are the Moors, 
George,” and apparently was listening intently. I 
tried to quiet him and make him lie down, a^' 
I could hear nothing; but he struggled, and said, 
“ Where’s my sword } ” and endeavoured to get out 
of his cot. 

At this moment I heard the cheep of oars in 
the rowlocks, and, shouting to McAllister to look 
after Merrick, I rushed on deck and called to 
Trenal to give the alarm. The men instantly 
rushed to their arms, and, running forward to the 
knightheads, I could make out four large boats 
pulling down towards us, and beyond them a 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


259 


schooner’s hull and masts, and the gleams of the 
rising moon falling on her, I could make out that 
she had her sweeps out. 

I gave orders for the guns to be loaded with 
langridge, and those that could be brought to bear 
pointed at the boats, but told the men not to fire 
without orders, and to maintain perfect silence. 
At last the boats came close and divided, so 
as to attack us on either bow, and being about 
fifty yards off, I gave the order to fire ; one boat 
was sunk, but the rest pulled straight on, and soon 
some fifty or sixty desperate devils were climbing 
up the bows. 

Fortunately whilst I was forward Trenal had 
been able to pass a hawser from aft, and bend it 
on to the sheet cable outside the hawsepipe, and 
now taking off the deck stoppers, we let the cable 
run so as to spring our broadside towards the 
schooner. With the sail-trimmers and the men 
from the foremost guns, I made shift to beat 
down the boarders, and hove cold shot into their 
boats, while Trenal commanded the broadside guns 
and opened fire on the schooner. 

In the uncertain light it was difficult to take a 
good aim with guns, and the schooner swept 
steadily on towards us, whilst I could make out 
that the men under the bow were trying to cut the 
cable. Seeing this, I ordered Black Jack, who had 
been beating the boarders down with a handspike, 


26 o The Crtiise of the Black Prince!* 


to get a man with him, and cut the ring and shank 
stoppers of the small bower anchor. Some of the 
pirates — for such there was now no doubt our 
assailants were — were on the anchor as it fell from 
the bows, and went crashing through one of their 
boats. The sheet cable fortunately still held on, 
and we managed with blunderbusses to keep up' 
such a fire on the men attempting to cut it, that 
we drove them off ; but, in the mean time, some 
few fellows got a footing on our fore cable. 

At this moment too, the schooner, though she 
had suffered heavily from our fire, came alongside, 
and we had to close our ports between our shots 
to prevent the desperadoes from boarding through 
them. It soon became a question of hand-to-hand 
fighting, for our boarding nettings, though well 
tarred and sanded, were soon hacked to bits, and 
the pirates swarmed into the waist of the ship. 

On the forecastle we had managed to dispose of 
our assailants, and Trenal, seeing that the pirates 
were on board, called his men on to the poop, and 
then from our barricadoes, or close fights, we 
poured a hail of small shot, which after a time 
caused our assailants to waver, though not before 
our waist and quarter-deck were converted into a 
shambles. As soon as these commenced to recoil, 
I and Trenal poured down with our men from 
poop and forecastle, and literally forced the pirates 
over the side into their own craft. Lying on the 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


261 


up-stream broadside of the ship, they could not 
clear away, and, manning our guns, I ordered 
them to be depressed to the utmost, and poured 
round shot into her. Soon we heard the men on 
board the schooner shouting out that she was 
sinking, and they again attempted to board us ; but 
letting go the spring, we allowed the Black Prince 
to swing to the current, and fended the schooner 
off, and she slowly drifted astern. A few hung on 
to our chains and to ropes ends that were towing 
overboard, but these we soon got rid of, and were 
able to turn our attention to our own men and 
their needs. Favoured, as we had been, by our 
position, our losses were not so heavy as might 
have been expected, but my party at the bow had 
lost four men killed, stabbed to death by the long 
knives of the pirates, and no fewer than sixteen 
were wounded, which, added to the losses we had 
experienced in our action with the Sangliery left us 
shorthanded indeed. The stream cable had parted 
soon after we let go the warp, and on hauling in 
the loose end, it was marvellous how it had held 
on so long, for it had been cut more than three- 
quarters through. 

When daylight came, I found that we were in a 
bight of reefs, the nearest of which rose from the 
sea about fifty yards from us. The pirate schooner 
had drifted on this, and the sea was now making a 
clear breach over her, A few of her crew could be 


262 


The Cruise of the “Black Prince! 


seen on her masts, and some more scattered here 
and there on the Cay. 

I proposed that we should fetch them aboard 
and take them to Nassau, to hand over to the civil 
power for piracy; but, after much consideration, 
we determined only to get those which were on the 
masts, and even these we had some difficulty in 
securing, as they knew well that their fate would 
be a short shrift and a long rope and it was not 
until we had shot three of them, that we persuaded 
the rest, six in number, to come down into the boat, 
where they were instantly secured. 


The Cruise of the Black PrinccT 263 


CHAPTER XXII. 

As soon as I could quit the deck I went to see 
after poor Tom, whom McAllister told me he had 
had great difficulty in restraining from rushing out 
on deck to join in the fray ; but since then his 
fever had abated, and he was now in a calm and 
refreshing sleep, from which he would doubtless 
awake much better, and probably free from fever. 

To get out of the bight in which we were 
embayed we had to lay out our hedges, and, 
weighing our anchor, we began this disagreeable 
and tedious work of warping out, and fortunately, 
when we got outside the breeze sprang up, and we 
were able again to stand on our course towards 
Nassau. 

I had our prisoners brought on deck, and a more 
villainous-looking and repulsive lot it would be 
hard to imagine ; one was a Spaniard, with matted 
moustachios and hair, and one eye knocked out, 
whilst the rest were a motley lot of mulattoes and 
negroes. I tried to find out who or what their 
leader had been, but they were all sulky, and 


264 The Cruise of the Black Princel'* 


would say nothing ; so I had them confined down 
in the ’tween decks, and though they were ironed 
put two men to keep guard over them. 

Two days after this brush with the pirates, we 
anchored off Nassau, and landed our despatches 
for that place and also the pirates. As I found that it 
would delay the ship if 1 remained to give evidence 
against them, I left behind three of the blacks I had 
shipped at Liverpool, and who expressed a desire 
to settle in the Bahamas, to act as evidence ; 
and weighing again, made the best of our way to 
Charleston, where we arrived without any occur- 
rence worthy of note. 

As soon as possible after I had delivered up my 
despatches to the governor I, as may be imagined, 
made inquiries about Muriel Penmore, and had 
hopes that, perhaps by this time, more especially 
after the success which had attended the cruise 
of the Black Prince^ her father might be pre- 
vailed upon to favour my suit, or, that if he still 
proved obdurate, I might take a leaf out of George 
Dormer’s book, and persuade her to trust her 
fortunes on board my ship. 

Judge, then, of my disappointment when I found 
that Mr. Penmore and all his family had sailed 
for England only four days before, on account of 
news having arrived that, owing to the death of a 
cousin, he had succeeded to a baronetcy and large 
estates. I came on board in a most desponding 


265 


T^te Cruise of the Black Prince^ 


mood, and told Tom, who by this time was con- 
valescent, that all my hopes were dashed to the 
ground ; for if plain Mr. Penmore, a Carolina 
planter, thought a merchant sailor presumptuous • 
in daring to aspire to his daughter’s hand, what 
would now be the opinion of Sir Rupert Penmore ? 

“ Never mind. Bob,” said this true and staunch 
friend. “We must sail at once, and it’s as likely 
as not that we shall be in England as soon as the 
Mohawky and then you surely can find some way 
to marry your Muriel.” 

I lost no time in filling up with water and pro- 
visions, and two days after our arrival, carrying on 
all the sail that the Black Pritice could stagger 
under, we commenced our voyage for England. 
We stood well to the northward, and then getting 
a strong westerly wind we shaped our course for 
the Land’s End. We soon ran into thick weather, 
and then came upon a quantity of icebergs, among 
which we had to navigate with the greatest pos- 
sible caution, but fortunately got clear of them 
without loss, though one night the voyage of the 
Black Prince and this narrative had been like to be 
brought to an abrupt close together. 

At sunset, as we had all through the day been 
in sight of large icebergs, I put the ship under easy 
sail, and stationed extra look-outs, relieving them 
every half-hour, as the cold was so severe as to 
greatly try men who had so recently been in a 


266 The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 


tropical climate, and remained on deck all night 
myself. About eleven o’clock, I could feel that 
the temperature had decidedly fallen, while the fog 
and mist had increased in density ; I, fearing that 
we were approaching close to some great mass of 
ice, brought to the wind and laid the maintop-sail 
aback. Soon, however, I heard the sound of waves 
breaking as if on a reef of rocks, but did not dare 
to fill on beat to windward, as the sounds were not 
only to leeward but also ahead and astern of us. 
I tried, as did every one on board, all hands having 
rushed on deck under a sense of impending danger, 
to pierce the gloom and mist, but without avail, 
when suddenly we were taken aback by an eddy 
wind, and, a gleam of moonlight breaking through 
the mist, we saw close alongside and towering 
high above our mast heads, a huge mountain of 
ice. Fortunately, we paid off to the eddy, and 
bracing round the head-yards, we filled, and com- 
menced to draw away from this undesirable neigh- 
bour, when suddenly, with a report as of a thousand 
cannon, a large portion of the berg came thundering 
into the sea, which it tore in foam, several large 
pieces of ice falling on our poop, and some carry- 
ing away one of our quarter boats. The ship 
rolled and rocked in the waves caused by this, and 
every one felt that we had escaped from most 
imminent peril. 

At this instant Cundy, who had made some 


The Cruise of the Black Prhtcel' 267 


voyages in whalers, rushed aft to me, and said, 
“ For God’s sake, sir, make sail and get out of this ; 
the berg will capsize, and may come up under out 
bottom.” 

I was just giving the necessary orders, when I 
felt the ship being lifted bodily up. What he feared 
had occurred, and the submerged portion of the 
berg was rising up under us. Soon we found our- 
selves lying over at an angle of forty- five degrees, 
and clean out of water, with our bows some thirty 
feet higher than the stern. This had been done 
rapidly, though without any violent shock, and after 
three or four oscillations the berg regained its equi- 
librium, leaving us in the position described. 

The men were, as were Tom and I, much alarmed 
at our position, and clambered aft to the weather 
side of the poop, some begging me to abandon the 
ship, others asking what should be done, and all 
lamenting the evil fortune which had befallen us. 
Cundy retained his presence of mind, and asked 
me to order the hatches all to be battened down, 
and the men to lash themselves to the rigging and 
bitts, as the ship might slide off the berg at any 
moment, and there was no telling how deep she 
might plunge in doing so, and unless the men were 
lashed they might be washed away. 

I at once gave the necessary orders, and then we 
had nothing to do but to hope for the best and 
w^ait for daylight. The cold and dreary hours 


268 The Cniise of the Black Prince!* 


dragged wearily away until the morning broke, 
and then, fortunately, the mist cleared away, and 
I was able to take a survey of our position. Astern 
of us the berg rose to a height of over two hundred 
feet, and we were lying in a sort of crevice, in 
which the ship was docked on a low, sloping spur, 
and prevented from sliding down into the sea, 
which was about forty yards from us, by a thick 
barrier of ice across our bows. 

I, with Jago, Cundy, and some of my smartest 
seamen, got out on the ice, and proceeded to 
examine this barrier, in order to see if by any 
means we could remove it 

“ Ah, sir,” said Cundy, “ if we had only some ice- 
saws and spades, we could soon cut that away and 
launch the ship again.” 

As we had none of these appliances we had to 
try and devise other means. After much scrambling 
about, we found several large holes in the lower 
part of the barrier, and these we determined on 
charging with powder and trying to blow the mass 
of ice upifc. 

This work I intrusted to Cundy, and as there 
was a danger that the ship, as she plunged into the 
sea, might capsize, I got the rest of the ship’s 
company to work to get the boats launched and 
stored with provisions and water, in case we should 
have, as a last resort, to take to them. I also got 
an anchor out over the stern, and, embedding it in 


The Cruise of the Black Prince', 


269 


the ice, passed a cable out through the stern ports 
and made it fast to it. I took a round turn round 
the main-raast with this cable, and then brought 
it to the capstan, so that we might as far as 
possible check the speed of the ship in sliding 
down the incline into the sea. All these prepara- 
tions took time, and I was glad to see that as the 
ice melted under the rays of the sun the ship got 
more upright, and by the time the mines were 
charged and ready for firing that she was not 
heeling over more than ten degrees, and the berg 
had also so far altered its slope that the ship was 
not so much on end. 

Cundy came and reported to me that all was 
ready, and that he thought it would be wise to 
have the boats taken away to some distance, and 
not to attempt to ease the ship down as she might 
either carry the cable away, or else the capstan 
would take charge, but that all hands should take 
to the boats except those who had to fire the 
mines, and these should get away to a distant part 
of the berg as fast as their legs could carry them. 

This was soon arranged, and I told Trenal and 
Merrick to puli the boats away to a safe distance, 
while I remained behind with Jago and Cundy to 
fire the mines. Tom tried to persuade me to let 
him take my place, but I would not hear of it, and 
at a quarter-past three we lighted the matches, 
which had been timed to burn for ten minutes, and 


2/0 The Cruise of the Black Prince'. 


then we three took to our heels, and as fast as the 
soft and treacherous surface of the berg would 
permit us, made our way to a place of safety. At 
last, much out of breathy we reached a solid bit of 
ice, where we considered we were out of danger, 
and there waited to watch the explosion. In a 
few minutes we saw the mass of ice astern of the 
ship rise, and a great gush of smoke, amid which 
blocks and lumps of ice were hurled higher than 
her mastheads, and then there was a dull, sullen 
roar, and the ship began to move, at first slowly, 
but then more quickly, and in a moment was lost 
to sight in a mass of foam and spray as she 
plunged into the sea. The masts could be seen as 
she rolled violently to and . fro, and then her hull 
emerged from the waves, with water pouring from 
her scuppers and upper deckports, which had been 
left open. 

We had not much time to watch the ship and 
our boats, for the whole lower part of the berg 
broke up, and the piece we were on rolled over and 
over, and we were thrown into the sea. As I rose 
to the surface I scrambled on to a piece of ice, 
and was able to lend a hand to Jago to help him 
on to the same fragment, but we could not see 
Cundy, and were afraid he had been imprisoned 
under the ice, when we heard his voice some 
twenty yards off, and, scrambling over the inter- 
vening ice, found him clinging to the edge of a flat 


271 


The Cruise of the Black Priixel' 


table piece, on which Black Jack and I, after much 
trouble, managed to haul him. The floating pieces 
of ice between us and the boats were far higher 
than our heads, and though we could see the mast- 
heads of the ship, we scarcely knew how we were 
to get to her. 

Cundy at once said, “We must not stop still and 
get frozen, so follow me as best you can ; but, 
first, can we make any thing of a rope to use in 
case one slips down between the pieces of ice ? ” 

I had on a long sash round my waist, which, 
with mufflers we were all three wearing round our 
necks, we knotted together, which made altogether 
a length' of twenty feet. Cundy leading the way, 
we now proceeded in the direction of the ship, and 
jumping, slipping, and scrambling, we made our 
way from fragment to fragment, and, though we 
received a good many bruises, and got more than 
one ducking, we at last got on a large flat piece of 
ice, beyond the outer edge of which we could not 
proceed. 

Here we could see that some of the boats had 
already regained the ship, but that two others were 
searching the ice for us. Unfortunately, for some 
time, though we shouted and waved and performed 
all sorts of antics, both to attract attention and 
also to keep up our circulation, no one either on 
board the ship nor yet in the boats saw us. At 
last one of the boats headed in our direction, and 


2/2 


The Cruise of the ^*BIack Prince! 


I turned round to my two companions, who were 
rather behind, to tell them of it, when, fifteen paces 
in their rear, I saw an enormous white bear coming 
over the ice directly towards us. 

I said, “ Look out, there’s a bear on us ! ” and 
Black Jack and Bloodred Bill instantly turned 
towards where I was pointing. 

“ Never fear, sir,” said Cundy ; ** you run to the 
left, and. Jack, you clear to the right. I’ll settle 
this fellow.” 

The bear, seeing he was observed, instantly 
quickened his pace, and Jago and I did not require 
twice telling to make us do as Cundy said. Cundy 
tore off his coat and flung it on the ice, and, while 
the bear stopped to smell and worry it, he ran 
after Jago, who was carrying the sash and mufflers. 
The bear spent some little time in sniffing and 
smelling at Cundy’s coat, which he tore in pieces, 
and then he set off at a fast run after me. I soon 
heard him panting close behind me, and determined 
to turn and face him, and trust to the boat, which 
was now close to, with the men straining every 
nerve at their oars to rescue me. 

The bear, to my astonishment, did not come on, 
but stopped, and, raising itself up on its hind legs, 
commenced beating the air with its front paws. 
Close behind it I saw Jago and Cundy, and they 
made signs to me to keep quiet, but what for I could 
not understand. The bear soon began to advance 


The Cruise of the Black Princet 


273 


on me again, and I was about to try to make a 
dash past it to join my men, when I saw them get 
a round turn round its neck with the scarf, and 
commence pulling with all their might on both 
ends. The bear, taken by surprise and half-strangled, 
was thrown on its back, but would soon have been 
free, but, the boat dashing up at this moment, some 
of the men sprang on shore with muskets and boat- 
hooks, and in a few minutes Master Bruin was a 
corpse. 

We were soon all on board the ship, and the bear 
instead of making a meal of me was cut up and put 
into the coppers to furnish a fresh mess for us, and 
the skin salted down and put in cask as a memorial 
of the adventure. I was delighted to find that, 
although much of the outer sheathing had been 
rubbed off, the carpenter on sounding the well had 
found the ship as tight as a bottle, but that the 
rudder had been jumped out of its place, and though 
it had gone back again, the head was much wrung, 
and we had to clap purchases on the rudder 
pendants, and, leading them to spars on either 
quarter, bring the falls to the wheel, by which means 
we managed to steer fairly well. 

From the masthead we could now see a long 
lane through the ice, leading to open water to the 
eastward, and pushing through it, by sunset we had 
left the ice behind. 

Next morning, though there was a fresh north- 

T 


274 Cruise of the Black Princel 


west breeze, the sea was quite smooth, and in 
that direction was a long line of bergs, which 
accounted for this. We were all glad at having 
escaped from the danger of the day before, and I 
did not forget to make a suitable acknowledgment 
to Black Jack and Bloodred Bill for the courage 
they had displayed in rescuing me from the bear. 

Soon after mid-day the masthead men reported 
two sail ahead, and by sunset they were little more 
than courses down, and one of them from her 
rigging was evidently a large and powerful ship, 
and, from the narrowness of the head of her topsails, 
probably a Frenchman, while the other had the 
appearance, as far as one could judge at such a 
distance, of an English merchantship. 

I did not care to come to close quarters with the 
strangers during the night, and therefore when by 
the moonlight I could make out that we were 
within about three miles, I shortened sail, and waited 
for daylight, to determine on my plan of action. 

Tom said, Why, Bob, why don’t you slip past 
them? You have despatches. By our picking them 
up as we have, we must have the heels of them, and 
there is no use risking all just at the end of the 
voyage.” 

“ True, Tom ; but I do not know what it is, but 
I have a kind of certainty that the smaller ship 
is the Mohawk^ and that Sir Rupert and Lady 
Penmore and Muriel are prisoners to the French.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


275 


“Nonsense, Bob. Why, the Mohawk got away 
some days before us ; and consider how we have 
been delayed by the ice.” 

“ Yes ; but mayn’t the Mohawk have been delayed 
by the ice ? ” 

“ Not very likely ; and besides, what good can it 
do Miss Penmore for you to get this ship taken.” 

“ I don’t know, but I will have a try to save her 
if the ship is the MohawkT 

“ All right, Bob. I will, you know, stand by you 
in all you do ; but you know there is something due 
to the men who have stood by you so loyally all 
through the voyage.” 

“ That’s right ; but I have an idea in my head 
which is this : If the Frenchman took the Mohatvk, 
she can sail faster than t\\Q Mohawk ; we know that 
we can sail faster than she can, or at least we 
believe we can, from the way in which we have 
drawn up to her since we first sighted her. Now, my 
plan is, draw the Frenchman down to leeward, and 
away from the Mohawk^ and when we are some 
distance away to get round her, and, fetching the 
Mohawk again, recapture her before the big fellow 
can get up, and start her away whilst we hang about 
the Frenchman and hamper him until the Mohawk 
had got clean off.” 

“It is a good thing if you can do it, but you 
will find it difficult.” 

“ Never mind ; I’ll try.” 


^7 6 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


CHAPTER XXIIL 

At daylight I made sail again, and stood on 
after the strangers, both of whom hoisted English 
colours ; I did the same, and stood on as if I had 
no suspicion of their real character. 

The larger vessel, which was a heavy frigate 
mounting over forty guns, shortened sail to topsails, 
and took up her position on the weather beam of 
the smaller, on the stern of which as we drew up 
we could see the words, “ MOHA IVK, Liverpool,’* 
and soon a man jumped up on her taffrail and 
hailed us : “ For God’s sake, sir, mind what you 
are doing ; we are prize to the French.” He was 
instantly hauled down, and we could see that there 
was a scuffle on the poop, but we had not much 
time to pay attention to him, as, putting my helm 
down, I hauled to the wind, and, shooting up in the 
wind under the frigate’s stern, delivered a raking 
broadside before her commander had any idea of 
my intention, and paid off on the other tack and 
stood away to the south-west with every stitch of 
canvas set 


The Cruise of tJie Black Prince,* 277 


On board the Frenchman they were thrown into 
confusion by my unexpected salute, but in a very 
short time they wore round after me, but not until 
I had placed a considerable interval between us. 
On board the Mohawk I could ni..kc out that all 
was not going smoothly for the prize crew, as, 
although she had squared her after-yards as if to 
wear in company with the frigate, her head-sails 
were partly hauled down, and foretop-sail sheets 
and haulyards let go. 

• “ There, Tom my boy,” I said, “ there is a trump 
card I did not count upon, the French having been 
fools enough to leave the English crew on board, as 
they have evidently done, and they seem to be 
strong enough to make a good struggle with the 
prize crew.” 

I found, though I had counted upon being able 
to outsail the Frenchman, either the Black Prince's 
'•est on the iceberg had considerably damaged her 
sailing qualities, or else that our pursuer was faster 
than most other ships ; and it was as much as we 
could do to hold our own from her. This did not 
quite suit my plans, as I hoped to have been able 
to get clear out of gun-fire, and then have lured her 
on in chase, without any risk of damage to ourselves. 

I soon saw, though it would not take us so fast 
away from the Mohawk^ which was my principal 
object, that as we were flying very light it would 
give us the best chance to get right before the 


278 The Cruise of the Black PrinceT 

wind, and so kept south-east. The frigate followed 
our every motion like a greyhound after a hare, 
and soon began to open fire on us with her bow 
chasers, and we returned the same from the after 
guns, which we transported into our stern ports. 

Although the Frenchman had to yaw in order 
to fire at us, still our steering, owing to the damage 
we had received in the ice, was so bad, that what 
she lost on that account was more than compensated 
for. 

“ I say, Tom,” I said, “ I ought to have listened 
to your advice, for we are rather in a tight hole 
now, and we will have to do all we know to get 
clear. I think we had better stow all that gold-dust 
away where they cannot find it, in case they do 
capture us. Here, Mr. Trenal, you take charge of 
the deck, whilst Mr. Merrick and I go down below 
to stow the gold and despatches away.” 

U nder the poop, as we passed on our way to the 
after-hold, where we had made a strong room for 
the gold, we saw Jago and Cundy stripped to their 
waists, with handkerchiefs tied tightly round heads 
and waists, working their guns, and I said, “ Ten 
guineas to the man that knocks away a spar.” 

“ We don’t want to be paid for that, sir; we’ve no 
idea to see the inside of a French prison this 
voyage,” answered Cundy. 

I and Merrick, with the carpenter and a few 
other hands, soon got the gold, which might have 


The Cruise of the Black Prhtcel 


279 


been worth seventeen thousand pounds, down into 
a space below the tiers, and then covering it 
with firewood and dunnage, coiled away a hawser 
on it 

There, they won’t find that in a burry. Now 
I will stow my log away ; and the despatches, I will 
slip them up under a skirting-board. I know there 
is no news that can hurt in them, and even if we 
are taken, we may recapture the ship again.” 

At this moment we heard a ringing cheer from 
our men, and running on deck, we found that the 
enemy’s spritsail-yard had been shot away, and 
fallen, with sail attached, across her forefoot, check- 
ing her way, and that we were perceptibly drawing 
away from her. I was for at once hauling to the 
wind, but just as I was giving the necessary orders a 
shot struck the outrigger on the port quarter through 
a block on which the rudder-pendant was worked, 
and we were rendered quite unmanageable for the 
time. I had to put the helm hard a-port to steady 
the rudder, and stood away to the west-south-west, 
which brought me open to the fire of the frigate’s 
broadside, but not much damage was done before 
I had, by slinging men over the stern in bow-lines, 
got hold of the rudder pendant again, and got a 
fresh outrigger rigged out. But whilst I was doing 
this the Frenchmen cleared away the wreck of 
their spritsail-yard, and got a spare topsail-yard 
out and across instead of it, and she was again 


The Cruise of ihe Black Princel* 


2 So 


;losing on us. One thing which gave me much 
)!casure, though I could see no hope of our escaping 
apture, was that I saw the Mohawk had evidently 
been retaken by her own crew, and was now stand- 
ing to the eastward, but I could not understand 
why the frigate did not give up the chase after us 
and make sure of the prize she had already taken. 

At last, the frigate gaining on us whatever course 
we steered or ruse we tried, I thought we would 
try the effect, being dead ahead of him, of hauling 
with the wind on the port quarter suddenly to the 
wind on the starboard tack, and giving him a 
broadside as we did so, and, trusting to our men 
being smarter than his, to get it in before he could 
let us have one in return. 

I gave the necessary orders, and, shoving the 
helm hard a-port, I brought her short round, and let 
the enemy have a most destructive broadside at 
close range ; but she was quite as ready as we were, 
and repaid us in kind, bringing down our main and 
mizzentop-masts and jibboom. She had not 
fared better, but indeed rather worse, for amid the 
smoke we could see her foremast totter and fall, 
and when the smoke cleared away could see that 
it was clean gone fifteen feet above the deck. 

Some on both sides were now employed in 
clearing wreck, and though I managed to get so 
far on her quarter that only a few of her guns 
would bear, we were rapidly being overpowered 


The Cruise of the Black Prince: 


281 


by her superior weight of metal, and soon our 
bowsprit and foretop-mast went, and then the 
mizzen-mast, while the carpenter came and told 
me that we had several shot between wind and 
water, and three feet of water in the hold. 

“ I am afraid, Tom, we must chuck the sponge 
up ; but I will try for another ten minutes by the 
glass. Now, lads, we must beat them from their 
guns.” 

My gallant fellows responded with a cheer, 
though they had suffered sadly from the fire of the 
enemy, and fired so quickly and sharply, that the 
heated guns jumped as they were fired, and some 
of them carried their breechings away. The 
enemy’s main-mast went during the next five 
minutes, and then fortunately we drifted so that by 
getting out a sweep, we were able to slue our 
broadside toward the stern of our injurious foe, 
and were only annoyed by his stern guns, whilst 
our whole broadside bore on him. Nevertheless 
I found that the water was increasing on us so 
rapidly, and the pumps having been shot away, 
that I considered that it would be absolutely 
necessary to strike in a few minutes to save the 
lives of my crew. 

“ Keep it up. Bob,” said Tom Merrick ; “ they 
must get sick of this. There ! now there’s a fire on 
board the enemy ; fire’s worse than water.” 

Sure enough there was a volume of smoke 


282 


TJte Cruise of the Black Princcr 

issuing from the frigate before her main-mast, and 
I, considering that would give them some employ- 
ment, withdrew some of my men from the guns, 
and, rigging whips over the main hatch, set them to 
work to bale, while the carpenter and his crew 
were repairing the pumps. 

The two ships were all this time drawing nearer, 
and I soon had an unpleasant reminder, by the 
enemy commencing a sharp fire of musketry, and 
I myself was struck by a bullet on the head, and 
fell senseless to the deck. 

When I recovered myself, I found myself lying 
in a cot under the poop, which bore signs of the 
action we had been through, and Tom Merrick and 
McAllister looking at me. I felt as if my head 
was surrounded by a circle of burning iron, and 
putting up my hand felt that it was all bandaged up. 

Tom said, “ Thank God, Bob, you are alive 1 I 
thought you were killed when I saw you fall.” 

“ Na, Master Merrick. It was a sair clout, nae 
doot ; but the captain’s hams are safe the noo. Ye 
see the bullet struck obliquely, and nae penetrated 
the cranium. — Eh, but captain, ye maun be thankfu’ 
gin yere sconce is a good stout ane, or ye wad be 
no lying here the noo.” 

I slowly began to remember what had happened, 
and said, “Are we taken? or what has happened?” 

“ No,” said Tom. “ Your fortune has not deserted 
you, for just after you were knocked over we heard 


The Cruise of the Black Prince. 


283 


guns away to the north-east, and locking out, we 
saw two English frigates standing down toward us, 
in company with the Mohaivk. The Frenchman 
must have seen them about the same time, for 
he hauled down his colours, and hailed that he 
surrendered. We had no boat that would float to 
send on board to take possession ; but anyway we 
have saved the money we should have had to pay 
our frigates on the recapture, and we now instead 
share in the prize-money of the Frenchman, which 
is the Vinus of forty-four guns.” 

“ But how about our leaks and spars ? ” 

"Don’t you mind anything now, we have the 
shotholes plugged, and the ship’s dry. The two 
English frigates, who were cruising here in search 
of the Ve'nuSy who had been picking up a good 
many homeward-bound ships, have both of us in 
tow ; we are astern of the Calliope, and the Venus 
is taken charge of by the Inconstant, and we are 
getting jury masts ready. Now you must go to 
sleep again.” 

“One word more, Tom. The Pcnmorcs — Muriel, 
is she safe ? ” 

“ Safe ! certainly they are! Sir Rupert and all the 
family are safe, I heard from the lieutenant of the 
Calliope, who is in charge of a w'orking party on 
board here to help us to repair damages.” 

“I must see Muriel, I must.” 

“All right, we will have you see her; but first 


284 The Cruise of the Black Princel' 


you must have some rest. I say, McAllister, the 
captain is not fit to go wooing now.” 

“Nae, nae ; he wad terrify the bonny leddy gin 
^)he saw him the noo. He main be patient and in 
twa or three days he will be mair fit for seeing 
lecldies.” 

“Two or three days! nonsense,” I said. 

“ Hoot, mon ; I’ll hae na sech cantrips. Ye maun 
be douce or ye will hae fever an ither complications, 
whilk wad be very dangerous.” 

Tom also soothed me down, and I after a bit 
went off to sleep again. 

The next few days passed away quietly. Jury- 
spars were rigged up on board both the Black 
Prince and Vc?ms, and all the five ships made 
their way homewards in company, and every day 
signals were made from the Mohawk asking after 
me, as it was generally known that I had been 
severely wounded, but curiously enough they never 
asked after me by name. Under our jury-masts 
the Venus and ourselves were both fairly able to 
keep up with the Inconstant, Calliope, and Mohaivk. 

I ordered the Black Prhice to be kept as near 
to the last-named ship as possible, and was often 
able to see ladies on her deck, but never could 
make sure that I saw my Muriel. I rapidly 
recovered, the bullet which had wounded me 
having passed underneath the scalp without 
damaging what McAllister called the cranium, 


The Cruise of the Black Prince!* 285 


and was soon able to resume the active command 
of my ship. I wished very much to be able to 
go on board the Mohawk and urge my suit 
with Sir Rupert, thinking after I had saved him 
and his family from captivity in France, and also 
from a severe pecuniary loss — the whole of the 
cargo, according to what I had heard at Charlestpn, 
being his property, — that he might be disposed to 
listen to me favourably. One morning when I 
came on deck I found that it had fallen a dead 
calm, and the Mohawk made a signal that Sir 
Rupert would come on board to thank our captain 
in person. 

I had all on board put in the highest state of 
order that our means permitted, and as far as 
possible hid the damages caused to us by the 
shot of the Venus. I could scarcely control my 
excitement when I saw the Mohawk lower a boat 
and watched to see if any ladies got into her ; 
but no, only the tall form of Sir Rupert could be 
seen as she neared us. She was soon alongside, and 
Merrick and I stood at the gangway in readiness 
to welcome our visitor as he stepped over the side. 

He made a most profound bow as soon as he 
came on our quarter-deck, which Tom and I 
returned, and then he commenced, “ I have come, 

sir, to thank you- ” when he stopped as if he 

had been shot, and said, “ What the d 1 is this ? 

I have come to see the captain of this ship.” 


286 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


I answered, " I am he, Sir Rupert What is your 
will?’* 

“You, sir! I do not believe it You wretched 
fellow, you have had the presumption ” 

I here interrupted him, and proposed if he had 
anything to say that he should come into the 
cabin. 

He would not answer a word, and, turning on 
his heel, went down into the boat again, and gave 
orders to return on board the Mohawk, 

Tom said, “I do not envy you your father-in- 
law, Bob ; but will you let me go on board and 
see if I can make him listen to reason ? ” 

“Faith, Tom, I see little use ; but the cutter has 
been repaired, and if you wish to try a forlorn 
hope you may e’en do so.” 

“Don’t be downhearted, lad. I’ll go on board, 
and perchance I can make the buckram old 
baronet listen to reason. He was ready enough to 
thank an unknown man, and you have told me 
that before he discovered your affection for Miss 
Penmore he was civil to you. Perhaps he may 
be induced to listen to reason.” 

“Well, Tom, you may go; but I don’t expect 
you will have any success with him.” 

“ Nonsense, man. Any way I can but try.” 

The cutter was soon ready, and Tom said 
“What has come over you? you have forgotten 
one of the most important things.” 


The Cruise of the Black Princel* 287 


“ What have I forgotten ? ” 

Why, to write a letter to Miss Penmore. Toby 
can go in the boat with me, and he will manage 
that some one shall give it her, and surely she will 
be able to send you an answer. If you two are 
staunch to each other. I’m certain that you will over- 
come Sir Rupert’s repugnance to your marriage.” 

“ Certainly, old friend, I will ; ” and I soon wrote 
a few lines to Muriel and assured her of my 
undying and unutterable attachment and devotion, 
and begged her if she possibly could to let me 
know that she still regarded me with love and 
affection. As soon as I had written this, Tom 
left for the Mohawk^ and had scarcely gone before 
Trenal reported to me that a boat was coming 
from the Calliope, 

When she came alongside, I saw that the 
captain of the Calliope was in the sternsheets. 
As he came on deck I received him, and he said 
he was glad to see me on deck, as he had been 
afraid that my wound had been a serious one. 
“ ’Egad,” he said, “ it is a wonder to me you did 
not all lose the number of your mess, tackling a 
ship so much superior in force as the Venus, But 
is not my uncle on board ? ” 

** Your uncle ! ” I said. “ Who do you mean ? ” 
‘*Why, Sir Rupert Penmore. He came to see 
you this morning ? ” 


288 The Cruise of the Black Frincel 


"Yes,” I said; "but he left immediately he 
recognized me, and has gone back to the Mohawk!' 
" Recognized you. Why, do you know him ? ” 
“Yes, at least I did; but if you would come into 
the cabin 1 will explain matters to you,” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince, 289 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

Captain Harold Penmore, for that was the 
name of my visitor, assented at once ; and I told 
him as briefly as I could the story of my acquaint- 
ance with his uncle and of my love for his cousin. 

“ So you are the Robert Hawkins my uncle’s 
letters have been full of — and so, for the matter 
of that, have Muriel’s too ; but he said you were 
a worthless adventurer. I thought my cousin, 
whom I saw a good deal of at one time when 
I was at Charleston, was not a likely girl to throw 
herself away on an unworthy object. Come, tell 
me your history, and if I think my uncle is mis- 
taken, there is the hand of a brother sailor, that I 
will do my utmost to help you ; for I can’t believa 
that a man who can fight and handle his ship as 
you have done can be anything but a gentleman.” 

When I had finished, he said, *'Even without 
your own merits, as your father’s son I ought to 
be glad to do anything for you, for your father 
when in the navy saved my father’s ^^fe. Did he 

never tell you anything about his frii id Penmore ? ” 

U 


290 The Cruise of the Black Prince f 


“No; I never heard the name until I met your 
uncle at Charleston.” 

“’Tis curious he never spoke to you about our 
fathers, for he knew well what friends they were.” 

“Perhaps he did not think of it, for you know 
Hawkins is not an uncommon name, and although 
I commanded the Elizabeth when I stopped at his 
house, you m'ust remember I was only a mate 
without a ship when I volunteered for her.” 

“No matter, man ; you are a gentleman born. 
And even if my uncle had some reason to object 
to your suit then, surely, now you have saved him 
from a French prison, that ought to weigh with 
him ; but if you will permit, I will go on board the 
Mohawk now, and try to make him listen to reason. 
Why, you, with your prize-money from this voyage, 
must be well off, and if you were only in the navy 
you would be certain of knighthood for the success- 
ful actions you have fought. Three frigates within 
four months ! Why, man, there is not a captain in 
the service that would not give his eyes to have 
had your good fortune. Now, may I go ? ” 

“ Certainly ; and you have my warmest thanks ; 
but my friend and super-cargo has gone on board 
the Mohawk now to try and get speech of your 
uncle.” 

“ So much the better. We will keep at him, and 
he must yield in the end. Good-bye, and mind, 
I shall expect to dance at your wedding,” 


The Cruise of the Black Prince'' 


291 


Captain Penmore left me to go on board the 
Mohaivky but a breeze springing up, he had to 
go on board his own ship. Tom came back also 
to us, and as soon as the boat was hoisted up and 
sail made, he reported to me the outcome of his 
mission. 

“ First, my dear Bob, I have seen Miss Penmore, 
and I don’t wonder at your love for her. If she 
were not already bespoke, I do not know but 
what I might aspire to her myself ; but as for her 
father, he might be a three-tailed Bashaw, or the 
Grand Turk himself, for the airs he assumes, and 
the manner in which he looks down on ordinary 
mortals. When I first got on board my gentle- 
man was in the cabin, and sent out word to say 
he would not see me. As I knew that your name 
would only confirm him in his determination, I 
sent in to say that I represented the owners of the 
Black Prince^ and wished to see him on business. 
An answer came back to say that I could have no 
business with him. I had by this time ascertained 
from the captain that the ship was chartered by Sir 
Rupert, and I sent back to say that I must insist 
on seeing him, as I had important business on 
which to speak to him. After some little delay 
he came out, and said — 

'' ‘ Well, sir, and what may be this important 
business ? Be quick and let me know. It must 
be important indeed for you to intrude on my 


292 The Cruise of the “ Black PrinceT 

leisure in this unmannerly and unwarrantable 
manner/ 

I told him that I should be obliged if he would 
give me a statement of the value of the ship 
and cargo, in order that we might make out our 
claims for having assisted in her recapture. 

* Recapture, sir ! You can tell that upstart 
captain of yours that I acknowledge no claims ; 
the ship was recaptured by her own crew, and I 
am sorry that the frigates came up to save you 
and your friend from your well-merited fate of 
a French prison.’ 

“ ‘ Thank you, sir,’ I said. ‘ I do not in this 
appear for Captain Hawkins ; I represent the 
owners, and must request you to give me the in- 
formation I require.’ He refused point-blank, but 
his daughter now appeared on deck, so I said, ‘ On 
behalf of Captain Hawkins, I now request that 
you will allow him to pay his addresses to your 
daughter.’ I could see Miss Penmore listening, so 
I added, * For you may be assured that Captain 
Hawkins does not intend to take your refusal as 
final.’ 

He turned to his daughter, and said, ‘ Muriel, 
it is not fitting that you should hear what this 
person says ; I must request that you will at once 
withdraw to the cabin.’ 

“ * I will, father ; but, sir ’ (to me), * pray tell me 
how is Captain Hawkins ; is his wound dangerous ? * 


The Cruise of the Black Prine^^ 293 


“I replied that you were fast recovering, when 
Sir Rupert, in a towering rage, turned to her, and. 
taking her by the arm, led her into the cabin. 

“A message was shortly after brought to me 
by the master, who seems a good honest man, 
to say that Sir Rupert would not see me again, 
and that as for any claim we might have on the 
recapture of the Mohawk he would not entertain 
it for one moment. The captain added he had 
owned it before, ‘ and surely if you had not attacked 
the V^nuSy we could never have dared under her 
guns to try for freedom.’ 

“Fortunately the V^nus had sent so many men 
away in prizes that she only sent a few men on 
board the Mohawk^ and made the English crew 
navigate her, and therefore, when the action be- 
tween the V^nus and ourselves commenced, they 
had not much difficulty in regaining possession 
of their ship. 

“Whilst I was talking with the captain Toby 
came to me, and said that the breeze was springing 
up, and I knew from the self-satisfied grin he 
had on his sable countenance, that he had got an 
answer to your note. On getting into the boat he 
gave it me ; and here it is.” 

“Thank you, my dear fellow; but I fear much 
your advocacy has not done me much good. But 
I must read this letter.” 

Muriel had only been able to write a few lines, in 


294 Cruise of the ^ Black Princel* 


which she assured me of her unalterable affection, 
and told me that until she got my letter that she 
had no idea of my presence on board the Black 
Prince. Her mother, she said, she had won round 
to consent to our union, but her father, whenever 
my name was mentioned, always manifested in- 
tense displeasure, and said that he would never 
permit her to think of me. ** Needless to say,” she 
continued, “I cannot obey him in this, for, my 
dearest Robert, you are ever present in my thoughts 
and prayers.” 

I told Tom Merrick of what Captain Penmore 
had said, and also that Lady Penmore was 
favourable to my suit, and he clapped me on my 
back, saying, “ Courage, Bob ; you have friends in 
high quarters, and I’ll be present at your wedding 
within a month after our arrival in England.” 

I could not help hoping that Sir Rupert might 
be won over to consent to our marriage, but, of 
course, could decide on no plan of action until our 
arrival in England. With favouring winds we 
soon sighted Cape Clear, and soon after I parted 
company from the other ships, and, running up the 
Irish Channel, arrived at Liverpool without any 
further occurrence worthy of note. 

Our appearance, as we sailed up the Mersey 
under jury masts, and showing manifest signs of 
the action we had fought with the Vinus^ caused 
great excitement; and when we anchored in our 


of the Black Prince” ' 295 

Did ber'.h Messrs, Merrick and Floyd^s 

office, we v;ere surrounded by quite a fleet of 
boats, crowded with people anxious to know what 
nad happened to us, and the interest was intensi- 
fied when it became known how successful our 
voyage had been, and that we had despatches on 
board, telling of a naval victory, and cheer after 
cheer went up. 

It was not long before Mr. Merrick and Mr. 
Floyd were on board, and Tom and his father’s 
meeting may be more readily imagined than 
described ; nor were they wanting in kind and 
cordial appreciation of my services. I said that 
I must immediately start for London to deliver 
my despatches at the Admiralty, and proposed 
sleeping for the night at my old quarters at the 
Woolpack, and leaving in the morning ; but 
Mr. Merrick would not hear of this, and insisted 
on my stopping at his house, and said, “The 
highwayman’s horse is ready for you, and I will 
speak to the mayor that you shall have a fitting 
escort; for it is proper, when Liverpool sends 
despatches like these to London, that she should 
make a suitable display.” 

When I landed, the mayor was on the quay- 
side, and I had with him to go to the town hall, 
and there, to the burgesses and merchants of the 
town, I had again to narrate the principal occur- 
rences of our voyage, and to none was more appro- 


2g6 Tki Cruise of the Black Princel 


elation shown than to George Dormer’s successful 
carrying off of his bride; and something of my 
suit for Miss Penmore’s hand having been spread 
abroad, some one in the audience shouted, 
“ Young mon, thee should tak’ a leaf oot o’ thy 
friend’s book,” a remark which elicited much 
laughter and applause. 

At Mr. Merrick’s in the evening we had to fight 
all our battles over again, and Tom’s mother and 
sisters shuddered, and wept, and laughed, and 
declared that he should never again tempt the 
dangers of the sea. 

At ten o’clock I begged leave to retire, as I 
should have to leave early in the morning ; and 
Tom said, “ I, too, must go to rest, as I must go 
with Bob.” 

His mother persuaded him to remain at home 
but he stoutly insisted that he would not leave me 
until I was safely married to Miss Penmore. 

At six in the morning the household was all 
astir to see us start. Standen, who was delighted 
to see his young master home again, made one of 
the party, and Toby was again put on a horse, 
much to his disgust, as he said he had forgotten all 
about riding since he had been away in the Black 
Prince Six stout fellows, well mounted and 
armed, had been provided by the mayor to 
accompany me, and the mayor himself, who had 
come to wish us God speed, told me I was not tc 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


297 


scruple for expense to rig them out in London, so 
that I might make a show when I went to present 
my despatches at the Admiralty. I would fain 
have taken Jago and Cundy with me, but they 
said that horses were craft they knew nothing 
about, and that they would tramp to London to 
see me married. I could not hear of this, but 
asked Mr. Merrick to see that they were sent 
up by waggon to the Golden Lion, where Tom 
and I intended as before to put up when in 
London. 

Our journey to London was almost a triumphal 
progress, our escort spreading everywhere the 
news that we were the bearers of despatches ; and 
country squires, parson and all, where we had to 
stay the nights, vied in showing us hospitality. 
As we passed the place where Trevor had been 
frightened by Toby’s black face, I said to Tom — 

“I wonder where Trevor is now?” 

“Yes, I wonder,” answered Merrick. “He has 
done spip^thing good, for he has paid for the 
Saint Pierrey and since then my father has heard 
nothing of him ; but I dare say that Sir John 
Dormer will be able to give us some news about 
him.’* 

As soon as we arrived at the Golden Lion, we 
sent a messenger to Sir John to apprise him of our 
arrival, and in less than an hour George Dormer 
came to see us, with a reply from his uncle, that he 


298 The Cruise of the Black Princel 


had sent to the Admiralty to say that we should 
present our despatches at nine o’clock on the 
following morning. 

As may be imagined, we had much to talk 
about, and George declared himself to be the 
happiest and luckiest dog alive, and that every day 
he found fresh reason to thank his stars that he 
had married Donna Juanita. 

I asked him if he had heard anything of Trevor, 
when he smiled and said that Trevor was now in 
London, and that he had sent to him to tell of our 
arrival, and that we would most likely see him in 
the morning, when he would tell his own story. 
My courtship of Muriel was also spoken about, and 
George told us that he had seen Captain Penmore 
that morning as he arrived from Plymouth, where he 
had left his ship, and he had told him that Sir 
Rupert and his family would soon be in London, 
but that, though he had spoken to his uncle on my 
behalf, he still remained obdurate. “But never 
mind. Bob ; you have helped in my mafHage, and 
I am determined to be present at yours. It will 
go hard with us if we do not find some way of 
bringing the old gentleman to listen to reason, and 
if he won’t, there are ways and means of doing 
without his consent.” 

We were now interrupted by the arrival of the 
tailor we had sent for, and had to busy ourselves 
in preparing for our escort and ourselves to appear 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


299 


in fitting trim when we went to the Admiralty on 
the following morning ; and when this was done, 
we w'ere by no means sorry to seek our beds. 
George, on leaving us, said that he would come for 
us with his uncle in the morning at eight o’clock, 
and that he would make arrangements for us to 
leave the Golden Lion the next day, and lodge 
ivith him in a house which he had taken in one of 
the new streets near the Haymarket. 

We were up betimes in the morning, and dressed 
ourselves carefully, and looked to the appearance 
of the men the mayor had sent with us from 
Liverpool, who made a brave show in their new 
coats and clothes. The despatches of Admiral 
Thompson and my log-book I had wrapped up in 
a handsome piece of silk, and then all being ready, 
Tom and I had our breakfasts. We were just 
finishing our meal, and had sent orders for our 
men to mount their horses and bring out ours, 
when we heard a great shouting and hurrahing in 
the street, and sending for the landlord to inquire 
the reason, he told us that a large crowd had 
assembled, having heard that there was a captain 
lodging there who had beat the French, and that 
they were all eager for a view of him. 

“ Last time. Bob, they put us down as highway- 
men, and howled at us. You should go and show 
yourself to them.” 

“Do, your honour,” said the host “They are 


300 The Cruise of the Black Prince f 


good-humoured now, but a small thing puts them 
out, and they may begin throwing stones.” 

I would fain have not gone out, but the noise 
increased so much that, to pacify the mob, Tom 
and I showed ourselves at one of the windows, and 
were greeted with volleys of cheers for England 
and her navy, and howls against the French and 
Spaniards. 

When the uproar was at its height, I saw the 
coach of Sir John, attended by four running foot- 
men making way for it. Sir John was evidently 
popular with the crowd, for when they recognized 
him they cheered and shouted for him. 

After some difficulty the coach drew up at the 
door, and Tom and I got in, and found George 
Dormer with his uncle. 

“Welcome, Captain Hawkins,” said Sir John, 
“and welcome, Mr. Merrick. I hear yon have 
been fighting like Paladins, and come home 
covered with glory and renown. This nephew of 
mine, too, has to thank you for winning him a 
bonnie bride. I own I don^t like our English folk 
marrying papists and foreigners, but his wife says 
she is neither one nor the other now; and the 
Jack Priest whom you caught has unfrocked him- 
self, and is now the most sedate of major-domos 
for Master George.” 

We thanked Sir Jo^ and asked after hb 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


301 


wife and daughters, whom he said were well, and 
hoped to see us after our visit to the Admiralty. 

All the way to the Admiralty we were followed 
by shouting crowds, and it took all the efforts ol 
Sir John’s footmen, aided by my men from Liver- 
pool, to clear a way for us. When we arrived we 
were ushered into a waiting-room, and told that 
Lord Temple would see us in a few minutes. We 
had scarcely to wait at all before a gentleman 
came and said his lordship was waiting for us, 
and, following him into another room, we found 
Lord Temple and some other gentlemen waiting 
for u% 


302 The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


CHAPTER XXV. 

Sir John Dormer, who was well known to his 
lordship, presented Merrick and myself to his 
lordship, and I handed Admiral Thompson’s de- 
spatches to him, and also showed him the entries 
in my log-book. 

“For Gad, sir,” said Lord Temple, “you have 
done well indeed, and I do not know how we can 
thank you. I will speak to Mr. Pitt about you. 
Admiral Thompson’s victory was a most important 
one, and it enabled Sir Harry Smith to carry out 
his plans successfully. Those despatches, too, that 
you took and gave Admiral Forsyth, have enabled 
us to turn the tables on the French. Instead of 
their sweeping our trade from the west coast of 
Africa, we have stopped the squadron they were 
sending there, and are now fitting out an ex- 
pedition against Goree. Fore George, sir, you 
ought to join it! ” 

7’he other gentlemen, some of whom I learned 
wem admirals, and some members of the Govern- 
ment, shook hands with me, and congratulated me 

( 

I 

. f 


The Cruise of the Black Prince^ 303 

on what they were pleased to term my gallant 
achievements; and then, on a hint from Sir John 
we withdrew, Lord Temple telling me that I should 
hear from him shortly. 

On leaving the Admiralty, we all went to Sir 
John’s house, and there Lady and the Miss 
Dormers made us tell all our story over again, 
while George v/ent to fetch his wife, who, he said, 
was dying to /.hank Merrick and me for the share 
we had had in promoting their union. I was 
delighted, when Mrs. Dormer came, with her 
charming manner and the delicate way in which 
she consoled me about Muriel, 

Just before the dinner-hour the door opened, 
and a servant announced Sir Ralph Trevor. I 
started, and, looking up, saw the whilom Captain 
Starlight walking into the room, dressed in the 
height of the fashion. I stared at George and 
Tom, and the former said, “ Let me introduce you 
to Sir Ralph Trevor, baronet, of Trevor Royal, in 
the county of Northumberland.” 

“ What does this all mean ? ” I said. 

" It is a long story,” said Sir Ralph, " but 
through the good offices of Sir John, I have had my 
title and estates restored to me, and I will tell you 
all about it afterwards ; but you I must indeed 
congratulate. There are broadsheets being hawked 
about the streets, containing a full, true, and 
veracious account of the voyage of the Black 


304 Cruise of the Black Prince f 


Prince^ including desperate fights with murthering 
pirates, and total destruction of the French fleet 
with a life of her captain, Robert Hawkins. Ffaith, 
you are the most famous man in London town 
to-day.” 

All the swagger of Captain Starlight had 
vanished, and so had the salt-water manners of 
the seaman. Trevor and Sir Ralph now con- 
ducted himself like the high-bred gentleman he 
really was ; and I could, both at dinner and after- 
wards, see that the younger Miss Dormer was by 
no means indifferent to the handsome baronet, and 
that both Sir John and Lady Dormer looked upon 
his suit with favouring eyes. 

After dinner, when the ladies had left us. Sir 
Ralph, in a few words, told me what had been his 
fortune since he left us at Sierra Leone. He had 
made a remarkably quick passage home, and had 
come to London to see Sir John, who had put him 
in communication with the Government, with a 
view of his obtaining information from France for 
them. His services were accepted, and he was 
able to prove of great use, and, on being asked if 
he wanted any reward, he asked to be permitted 
to assume the title of his grandfather, who had 
been beheaded in 1715, for taking part in the 
Jacobite plots of that time. His father having 
died abroad, this was at once granted, and since 
that he had managed, with Sir John’s assistance, 


The Cruise of the ** Black Prince^ 


305 


to get his family estates restored to him, and was 
now, as he said, in his proper position ; “ Though,” 
he said, “ if you had not taken me by the hand 
when you did, I know not what I should have 
ended in becoming.’ 

I was delighted to hear of Trevor’s good for- 
tune, and would have questioned him further, 
when the entry of Captain Penmore put a stop to 
our conversation, as I had what to me was much 
more interesting matter to talk about. 

Captain Penmore told me that he had seen his 
uncle at Plymouth, and had endeavoured to urge 
my suit, but without avail ; and that, as he could see 
no hopes of moving him, he advised me, when Sir 
Rupert arrived in London, to carry off Muriel, and, 
having a clergyman in waiting, marry her out of 
hand. He had proposed this to Muriel in a short 
talk he had managed to have with her alone, and 
the brave girl had consented. “ And now,” said he, 
“ I am sure all your friends will help you.” George 
Dormer, Trevor, and Tom Merrick all said that 
they would assist in any way they could, and, on 
our taking Sir John into our confidence, he said 
that as soon as I was married I could bring my 
bride to his house, and he would guarantee that 
Sir Rupert would not molest us. “Anyway, when 
once you’re married he can’t unmarry you, and will 
have to accept you as a son-in-law.” 

I felt very unsettled waiting for the arrival of 

X 


«3o6 The Cruise of the Black Prince'^ 


Muriel in London, for until she came we could 
decide upon no plan of operations. In the mean 
time, Lord Temple did not forget his promise of 
mentioning me to his brother-in-law, the great 
minister, Pitt, who did me the honour of desiring 
me to wait upon him, which I accordingly did, and 
he received me in a most courteous manner, and said 
that he had mentioned my name to his Majesty, 
who was graciously pleased to express a desire to 
see me, and hear from my own lips a narration of 
the cruise of the Black Prince. 

I was introduced to the king at St. James’s 
Palace, after the conclusion of a council, by the 
prime minister, and on my kneeling and kissing 
his hand, his Majesty said, “ Get up,” and, speaking 
with a strong foreign accent, told me to tell my 
own story in my own way. I, as briefly as I could, 
narrated the principal events that had taken place 
during my voyage, the king repeatedly ejaculating, 
“ It is wonderful ; ” and, when I had finished, ex- 
tended his hand for me to kiss, and dismissed me, 
saying that he would not forget me. Mr. Pitt, 
when we left the presence, told me that he had 
recommended me for the honour of knighthood, but 
that the King had said that he could not remember 
any precedent for knighting a captain of a privateer, 
and that, though he had urged that Drake and 
Raleigh would be considered with most of the Eliza- 
bethan naval worthies as privateers in the present 


The Cruise of the Black Prince! 


307 


age, his Majesty had replied that times were 
changed, but that he believed and hoped that his 
Majesty would be prevailed on to reconsider his 
determination. 

Three days after my interview with the King, 
Captain Penmore came to George Dormer s house, 
where I was now staying together with Tom Merrick, 
and told me that his uncle and his family had 
arrived in London the day before, and had taken 
up their abode in a house in St. James’s Square, 
which he had inherited with his title and estates, 
and that his intention was to bring Muriel out 
into the gay world, in the hopes that she might 
make a marriage which he would consider befitting 
her family and fortune. 

“Now, Senhor Hawkins,” said Mrs. Dormer, 
“you will have to do as George did, and steal your 
wife. At these balls and festas to which Miss 
Penmore must go, you will meet her, and you must 
one night do what you have not done before — run 
away, only you must have your prize when you run.” 

“Certainly, madam, I will do my best, and I 
shall, with the example of your husband before 
me, be bold and hopeful of success.” 

Muriel was soon noted everywhere for her beauty, 
and became one of the reigning toasts, and, although 
I often saw her at drums and receptions at court, 
I could never manage to get a word with her, so 
closely and jealously was she watched by her father. 


3o8 The Cruise of the ''Black Prince^ 


though her eyes told me, perhaps, more eloquently 
than words could have done that her feelings 
towards me were unchanged. I watched for an 
opportunity to carry her off, but though I had 
many times men ready with my friends to carry 
off her chair on her way to and from the 
different entertainments, her father, who evidently 
suspected that I intended something of the kind, 
had her always guarded by footmen and linkbearers 
in such numbers that, without causing a riot and 
disturbance, we could not carry our plans into 
effect, more especially as her father always shared 
her sedan with her, and would have had to be 
carried off with her. Matters continued for some 
time in this most unsatisfactory state, and I was 
beginning almost to despair of compassing my 
object, when one day I received a message from 
Mr. Pitt, desiring me to call on him without delay. 

On my repairing to his house, much wondering 
at what could be the cause of his wishing to see me, 
he told me that the governorship of South Carolina 
was vacant, and that, if I would accept of the 
appointment, he had decided on recommending me 
to his Majesty for the post, and added that there 
had been precedents for the conferring of knighthood 
on Colonial governors, and that the King could no 
longer refuse me that honour, which he was pleased 
to say I fully merited. 

This offer took me quite by snrprise, and I could 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.' 


309 


hardly express my thanks in a fitting manner to 
the minister, but I told him I did not see how 1 
could accept it. 

He seemed both surprised and vexed, and 
pressed me to give my reasons, and at last I told 
him of my relations with Muriel, and of her father’s 
persistent refusal to countenance my suit. 

Mr. Pitt said, “ Accept this, and however madly 
proud of his family Sir Rupert may be, he surely 
cannot refuse the hand of his daughter to the 
governor of the colony where but a short time ago 
he was a merchant and planter ; and I am sure Sir 
Robert Hawkins is as good a name as Sir Rupert 
Penmore. Why, the name of Hawkins, in Queen 
Elizabeth’s reign, gained a lustre which no history 
has shed on that of Penmore.” 

I replied that certainly I was proud of my 
ancestor. 

“Your ancestor, sir? and Sir Rupert talks of 
family ! Go to ! Accept this, and Sir Rupert must 
give you permission to marry his daughter or, if he 
won’t, I will assist you to marry her without his 
will.” 

I accordingly expressed my readiness to accept 
the post he so kindly offered to me, and made 
haste to tell Dormer and Merrick of my good 
fortune. Whilst we were speaking about it Captain 
Penmore came in, and instantly proposed that he 
should be bearer of formal proposals on my behalf 


310 The Cruise of the Black PrinceP 


to his uncle — for,” he said, surely he cannot be 
so mad as to continue his objections now.” 

Merrick, when Captain Penmore had left, said 
“ Well, now I and Trevor may be married.” 

“ Married ! What do you mean ? ” 

‘*Why, man, you have been so occupied with 
your own affairs that you have been blind to all 
else. Sir John’s two daughters have promised their 
hands to Sir Ralph and myself, but they protest 
that they will not marry until you are united to 
Miss Penmore, as they say we should have assisted 
you to carry her off long ere this.” 

I waited most anxiously for the return of Captain 
Penmore, and fell into a mood of reverie and 
castlc'building, thinking what I should do when 
I was married. From these dreams I was rudely 
aroused by the return of Captain Penmore, whose 
face bore an expression of discontent and vexation^ 
and who burst out, as he entered the room, “That 
uncle of mine is the most unreasonable, cantankerous 
old curmudgeon that ever breathed ! He says the 
King may make knights and governors, but he 
cannot give a man a predigree, and raved of Pol, 
Tre, and Pen, King Arthur, and all sorts of non- 
sense, till I verily believed his head was turned 
by his vanity. But never say die, my lad. Muriel 
was in the room when I first saw my uncle, though 
he ordered her out pretty soon, and she told me 
to tell you that if she had to wait a hundred year^ 


The Cruise of the Black Princel 


311 


she would marry no one but you. This, as you 
may imagine, has not improved Sir Rupert’s temper; 
but I’m determined that you shall be my cousin, 
even if you have to carry my uncle ofif, as well 
as his daughter.” 

I was on the point of going back to Mr. Pitt, 
to tell him I could not leave England, but my 
fjiends dissuaded me from such a rash step, and 
we all together went to Sir John Dormer to tell 
him our news. 

Sir John said he was delighted to hear of my 
good fortune. “ And now, see if an old man’s wit 
is not as good as that of all you boys together. I 
will give a banquet to the new governor, and I 
shall invite Mr. Pitt and all the merchants interested 
in the colony, and Sir Rupert Penmore, who will 
not be able to refuse, for it would be making his 
family differences a public matter.” 

“I cannot see how that would help me, sir,” 
I replied. 

“ Gently, my boy, if Sir Rupert comes, he must 
leave his daughter alone, and I will send Lady 
Dormer to ask for her to come to a drum at my 
house after the banquet, and her mother, who you 
say is in favour of your marriage, will not refuse. 
I shall have a clergyman in waiting, and you shall 
be married in this house immediately after the ban- 
quet, and I shall have the pleasure of introducing 
Sir Robert and Lady Hawkins to Sir Rupert.” 


312 The Cruise of the Black Prince'' 


“ If you can manage it, sir, I see no objection.” 

** Of course you don’t” 

The worthy knight told me to leave all in his 
hands, and not to mention the matter to any one, 
save Mr. Pitt, if he should ask me any questions 
about it 

Soon after this I received a message from the 
prime minister, to say that I was to have an 
audience of the King the next morning, to kiss 
hands on my appointment, and also to receive 
the honour of knighthood. 

I accordingly, the next morning, went to the 
prime minister’s house, and the first thing he 
spoke about was my marriage. I told him of Sir 
John’s plans, and he said, “ I will be one of the 
witnesses of the wedding.” The audience of the 
King was very brief, but I do not know that there 
was a happier or more hopeful man than I, when, 
after the ** accolade,” he said, “ Rise up Sir Robert 
Hawkins.” 

Sir Rupert Penmore at first refused to be present 
at the banquet given by Sir John Dormer, but 
Mr. Pitt caused an intimation to be conveyed to 
him that his absence would be regarded by the 
King with disfavour. He was fain to come, although 
at the banquet his face was quite out of keeping 
with the genial looks of those by whom he was 
surrounded. 

When the banquet was finished, Mr. Pitt singled 


The Cruise of the Black Prince.** 


313 


out Sir Rupert, and said he wanted much to speak 
to him about South Carolina, and begged him to 
accompany him to Sir John Dormer’s house for 
the purpose, and Sir Rupert was not able to refuse. 
I had gone there before them, and found my 
Muriel waiting for me, with her mother and Lady 
Dormer and a clergyman. 

All was in readiness for the marriage, and I 
begged the parson to proceed at once, but he said 
he had Mr. Pitt’s commands not to commence 
until he arrived. We had not long to wait, and 
Mr. Pitt gave my blushing bride away, and then, 
the knot being tied, we all proceeded to a saloon, 
where the company were assembled, and Mr, Pitt, 
leading ua up to Sir Rupert, presented us to him 
as Sir Robert and Lady Hawkins. 

Sir Rupert’s face paled with rage, but he said 
never a word, and left the room. Lady Penmore 
went after him to try and calm him, and the guests, 
understanding what had occurred, soon left, and I 
and my wife, after receiving the congratulations of 
my tried friends, were left alone. 

Next day Muriel received a violent letter from 
her father ; but Mr. Pitt also wrote, and said that 
he intended to persuade the King to interfere, and 
a few days after. Sir Rupert, in obedience to the 
royal command, received my wife and me, and I 
must in honour say that, violent and unreasonable 
as his opposition to our marriage was, from that 


314 Cruise of the Black Princtf 


day to this he has never, in any one way, shown 
that he ever regarded me as an unsuitable son-in- 
law, Captain Pen more, in the Calliope^ was ordered 
to take me to the seat of my government, and I 
was glad to say that the Black Princis crew to a 
man shipped on board her at my recommendation 
Before we sailed, however, I was present at the 
weddings of Tom Merrick and Sir Ralph Trevor ; 
and Tom, on behalf of his father, on his wedding- 
day, told the worthy Trenal that he was to be the 
master of the Black Prince, 

In South Carolina, Muriel’s relations ensured me 
a warm reception, and when, after seven years, we 
returned to England, I was rejoiced to find all my 
friends alive and prosperous, and so, I am happy to 
say, we and they continue to the present time, 


THE ENIX 




^ If ^ r ^ ^ ^ S $ 3 : T 

lisit'ii!i the 'woTT’ca o£ our households when they undertake te make theh 
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regard ior decent homc.s by their indefatigability. What a pity that any 
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SOCIAL SO LUTIO'NS 

{Solutions Modules). 

By M. G- O B I isr , 

FounO&r of the FamilisUre at Guise; Prominent Leader of Industrie^t in 
France and Belgium; MemOer of the National Assembly. 

TBANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY 
MAKIE HOYV^LAND. 


I vo!-, ISmo, illustrated, cloth gilt, SI. 50. 


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France. There is no question that this publication will mark an era 
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ind subduing nervous excitability, 
ibility, exhaustion, prostration, hys- 
spasms and other distressing, nerv- 
iymptoms commonly attendant upon 
ctional and organic disease of the 
omb. It induces refreshing sleep and 
relieves mental anxiety and despond- 
ency. 

Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescrip- 
tion is a legitimate medicine, 

carefully compounded by an experienc- 
ed and skillful physician, and adapted 
to woman’s delicate organization. It Is 
purely vegetable in its composition and 


perfectly harmless* in its effects in any 
condition of the system. 

“Favorite Prescription” is a 
positive cure tor the most compli- 
cated and obstinate cases of leucorrhea, 
or “ whites,” excessive flowing at month- 
ly periods, painful menstruation, unnat- 
ural suppressions, prolapsus or falling 
of the womb, weak back, “ female weak- 
ness,” ante version, retroversion, bearing- 
down sensations, chronic congestion, in- 
flammation and ulceration of the womb, 
inflammation, pain and tenderness in 
(^varies, accompanied with internal heat 

In pregnancy, “ Favorite Prescripl 
tion” is a “mother’s cordial,” relieving 
nausea, weakness of stomach and other 
distressing symptoms common to that 
condition. If its use is kept up in the 
latter months of gestation, it so prepares 
the system for delivery as to greatly 
lessen, and many times almost entirely 
do away with the sufferings of that try- 
ing ordeal. 

“ Favorite Prescription,” when 
taken in connection with the use of 
Dr. Pierce’s Goiden Medical Discovery, 
and small laxative doses of Dr. Pierce’s 
Purgative Pellets (Little Liver Pills), 
cures Liver, Kidney and Bladder dis- 
eases. Their combined use also removes 
blood taints, and abolishes cancerous 
and scrofulous humors from the system. 

Treating tlie Wrong Disease.— 
Many times women call on their family 
physicians, suffering, as they imagine, 
one from dyspepsia, another from heart 
disease, another from liver or kidney 
disease, another from nervous exhaus- 
tion or prostration, another with pain 
here or there, and in this way they all 
present alike to themselves and their 
easy-going and indifferent, or over-busy 
doctor, separate and distinct diseases, 
for which he prescribes his pills and 
potions, assuming them to be such, 
when, in reality, they are all only symp- 
toms caused by some womb disorder. 
The physician, ignorant of the cause of 
suffei'ing, encourages his practice until 
large bills are made. The suffering pa- 
tient gets no better, but probably worse 
by reason of the delay, wrong treatment 
and consequent complications. A prop- 
er medicine, like Dr. Pierce’s Favorite 
Prescription, directed to the cause would 
have entirely removed the disease, there- 
by dispelling all those distressing symp- 
toms, and instituting comfort instead of 
prolonged misery. 

Favorite Prescription” is the 

only medicine for women sold, by drug- 
gists, under a positive guarantee, 
from the manufacturers, that it will 
give satisfaction in every case, or money 
will be refunded. This guarantee has 
been printed on the bottle-wrapper, and 
faithfully carried out for many years. 
Targe bottles (100 doses) $1.00, or 
six bottles lor $5.00. 

J^“Send ten cents in stamps for Dr. 
Pierce’s large, illustrated Treatise (160 
pages) on Diseases of Women. Address, 
World’s Dispensary Medical Association, 
NO. 668 Main stbbjet, buffalo, n. T. 







Produces 


Soft 


White 


eautiful 


Hands 


AND 



















